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THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 
From  the  collection  of 

James  Collins, 
Dr umo  ondr a ,   I  r  e  1  and  •' 

Purchased,   1918. 

cop. 2. 
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JAIL   JOURNAL 


^': 


JAIL   JOURNAL 


COMMENCED  ON  BOARD  THE  "  SHEARWATER"  STEAMER,  IN  DUBLIN  BAY,  CONTINUED 

AT  SPIKE   ISLAND — ON   BOARD  THE    "SCOURGE"   WAR   STEAMER — ON   BOARD 

THE    "DROMEDARY"   HULK,    BERMUDA — ON    BOARD  THE    "NEPTUNE" 

CONVICT  SHIP— AT   PERNAMBUCO— AT  THE   CAPE   OF  GOOD   HOPE 

(DURING   THE   ANTI-CONVICT  REBELLION) — AT   VAN   DIEMEN'S 

LAND— AT  SYDNEY^AT  TAHITI — AT  SAN   FRANCISCO — 

AT  GREYTOWN— AND  CONCLUDING  AT  NO.    3   PIER,  • 

NORTH    KIVEK,    NEW    YORK. 


WITH    AN    INTRODUCTORY    NARRATIVE    OF 
TRANSACTIONS    IN    IRELAND 


BY 

JOHN'  MITCHEL 

PRISONER    IN    THE    HANDS    OF    THE    ENGLISH 

\ 

Ol'T      €V    TOl?    (f>9lfl€VOt<i  .   "      •■ 

OiV  iv  ^oxriv  dpi,dfwvfievo<i. 


ORIGINAL    EDITION 

WITH   A  CONTINUATION  OF  THE  JOURNAL   IN  NEW  YORK 

AND   PARIS,   A  PREFACE,   APPENDICES, 

AND   ILLUSTRATIONS 


Dublin 

M.    H.    GILL    &    SON,    LTD. 

1913 


Printed  and  Bound  in  Ireland 


^w*.we 


"»«*• 


BY 


M.    H.    GILL   &    SON,    LTD. 


REMOTE 


ST 


orage 


TAe  present  edition  is  reprifited  from  "  The 
Citizen  " — Mitchets  first  New  York  newspaper — in 
which  the  '' Jail  Journal"  was  originally  published, 
from  January  i^th,  1854,  to  August  i()th,  1854.  Save 
for  some  half-dozen  verbal  changes  subsequently  made 
by  Mite  he  I,  this  Edition  is  an  exact  reproduction  of 
the  ''  Jail  Journal''  as  it  first  appeared. 


435020 


AH 


John  Mitchel 

(A  sketch  in  May,  1848) 


0^ 


PREFACE 

John  Mitchel  met  the  crisis  of  1848  with  a  pohcy.  Practical 
Posterity,  from  its  easy  chair,  has  pronoimced  the  policy  ex- 
travagant and  impossible :  even,  in  unctuous  moments,  repre-  ' 
hensible.  Let  the  Censor  stand  in  the  Censured's  place  and 
declare  what  its  wisdom  would  have  counselled  a  people  whose 
life  was  assailed.  For  two  years  Mitchel  had  trod  the  round  of 
Resolution  and  Protest,  Protest  and  Resolution  against  the 
drafting  out  from  Ireland  of  the  food  of  twenty  millions  of 
people  to  the  famishing  of  eight  milUons.  A  third  year  * 
dawned  on  the  same  programme  of  calculated  destructioi)  and 
futile  remonstrance.  Mitchel  withdrew  his  name  from  the 
second  part  of  the  programme  and  bade  his  countrjTnen 
defend  their  lives  from  attack  by  the  ultimate  methods  of 
self-preservation. 

Mitchel  made  one  miscalculation  when  he  amazed  all  and 
scandalised  many  by  introducing  the  element  of  reality  into  the 
Irish  politics  of  his  time.  He  beUeved  there  was  hidden  in  his 
cotmtrymen  a  sympathy  with  his  own  haughty  manhood  which 
he  could  kindle  to  devouring  flame.  He  allowed  too  little  for 
the  weight  of  two  centuries  of  direct  oppression,  for  the  senile 
teaching  of  a  great  leader  in  his  dotage,  and  for  the  chilling  effect 
of  extreme  misery  on  the  people  whom  his  masculinity  addressed. 
He  told  them  that  the  settled  policy  of  England  was  to  reduce 
the  population  of  this  country  to  easy  governable  Umits,  and  he 
bade  each  man  defend  his  house,  his  food,  his  life  against  that 
policy.  He  preached  to  Ireland  a  passive  resistance  reinforced 
at  strate^c  points  by  aggressive  action,  and  the  Ireland  he 
preached  to  shrank  from  the  preacher,  preferring  to  sow  its 
fields  for  foreigners  to  reap  their  harvests,  and  die  of  hunger  on 
its  hearthstone — but  in  Peace.  In  a  land  so  lost  to  reason, 
the  voice  of  sanity  was  deemed  mad.  Ireland  failed  Mitchel 
%'ecause  it  failed  in  manhood.  Our  shamed  consciousness  of 
b  ix 


X  PREFACE 

this  is  the  impulse  of  our  anxiety  to  explain  Mitchel  as  a  good 
man  crazed  by  oppression. 

Thirty  years  later,  Mitchel's  policy,  interpreted  and  applied 
in  a  stronger  generation  hy  the  man  whose  career  Mitchel's 
writings  mouldedr— Charles  Stewart  Pamell^ — ^brought  the  stoutest 
bulwark  of  English  power  in  Ireland  to  the  ground.  When 
Pamell  bade  the  farmers  of  Ireland  "  Keep  a  firm  grip  on  their 
holdings,"  he  crystallised  into  a  phrase  the  policy  Mitchel  urged 
unsuccessfully  in  1848.  Mitchel's  generation  failed  hira,  his 
sacrifice  seemed  vain — but,  sixty  years  after,  we  can  look  back 
to  the  Ireland  of  slavish  resignation — the  land  of  carcases  and 
ruins— the  Finis  Hibemiae  of  the  cheering  auditors  to  a  British 
Minister  and  the  leaderwriters  of  the  English  press,  and,  seeing 
out  of  that  degradation  and  misery  and  ruin  new  forces  grow  to 
encounter  and  defeat  English  policy  in  Ireland,  realise  that  the 
haughty  spirit  of  a  great  Irishman  though  baffled  in  its  own 
generation  may  set  the  feet  of  our  country  in  the  way  of  triumph 
in  the  next.  Fifty  years  passed  ere  the  voice  of  Swift  in  the 
"  Drapier's  Letters "  spoke  winningly  to  England  through 
the  cannon  of  the  Volunteers.  Thirty  years  after  Mitchel 
was  borne  a  shackled  prisoner  from  a  cowed  country,  two 
strong  fortresses  of  England's  power  in  Ireland  perished  in  the 
fires  of  resistance  to  oppression  he  had  rekindled  in  an  abject 
land. 

Nature  gifted  Mitchel  with  the  genius,  and  more  than  the 
strength  of  Swift.  No  party  prejudices  or  personal  animosities 
distracted  or  marred  his  treatment  of  his  country's  enemies. 
Few  men  have  possessed  his  intellectual  courage  in  following 
out  unshrinkingly  a  thought,  an  opinion,  a  conviction  to  its 
logical  conclusion,  however  terrible  the  conclusion  might  be. 
Other  men  weighing  the  trend  of  English  Legislation  in  Ireland 
from  1829,  recalling  the  incautious  public  statement  of  an 
English  Minister  that  the  growth  of  Irish  population  was  a 
menace,  and  observing  the  attitude  of  the  Government  in  1846 
and  1847 — its  refusal  to  close  our  ports  to  the  export  of  food, 
its  alleged  relief  measures  which  steadily  forced  the  comparatively 
well-off  farmer  to  the  choice  of  emigration  or  starvation — had 
come  to  the  same  conclusion  as  Mitchel — that  the  English 
Government  was  deliberately  using  the  pretext  of  the  failure  of 


•PWT^ 


PREFACE  xi 

the  potato  crop  to  reduce  the  Celtic  population  by  famine  aipfl 
exile.  The  logic  of  events  compelled  the  conclusion.  All  out 
Mitchel  shrank  from  proclaiming  the  fact,  not  through  a  cowardly 
fear  of  personal  consequences,  but  through  a  common  intellectual 
timidity. 

To  the  end  of  his  days  Mitchel  remained  the  fearless  speaker 
of  truth  as  he  conceived  it,  regardless  of  personal  consequences, 
and  the  foe  of  humbug  no  matter  what  its  garb.  Necessarily 
he  raised  up  hosts  of  enemies  and  spent  a  stormy  life.  The.: 
United  States  received  him  with  fulsome  welcome  on  his  escape 
from  the  hands  of  the  English.  He  passed  its  honours  when, 
alarmed  by  his  manner  of  receiving  them,  it  hinted  that  they 
should  be  taken  as  a  personal  compliment  to  John  Mitchel,  not 
as  an  expression  of  sympathy  with  Ireland  in  her  efforts  against 
English  Government.  Vanity  was  absent  from  his  composition. 
Later,  when  Mitchel  avowed  his  approval  of  slave-holding  and 
the  Northern  States  whidh  had  but  a  few  months  before 
banquetted,  bouquetted  aid  brass-banded  him  to  weariness, 
shrieked  threat  and  insult,  he  was  genuinely  astonished  to  find 
that  in  a  "  Land  of  Liberty"  a  man  was  supposed  to  conceal 
unpopular  opinions.  His  demolition  of  the  "  moral  basis"  of 
the  Abolitionist  case  in  his  trenchant  letters  to  the  Rev.  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  who  unluckily  for  himself  crossed  swords  with 
Mitchel,  was  avenged  later  on  by  the  subjection  of  Mitchel  to 
harsh  treatment  and  attempted  personal  indignities  when  he 
fell  a  prisoner  into  Yankee  hands  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War. 
In  the  midst  of  the  blizzard  of  abuse  that  raged  around  him  when 
in  the  heart  of  Abolitionism,  he  opposed  the  Coercion  of  the 
Southern  States,  Mitchel  remained  as  cool  as  when  week  by  week 
in  Dubhn  he  fought  the  English  Government  into  the  dilemma 
of  either  "  openly  and  notoriously "  packing  the  jury  before 
which  it  would  arraign  him  or  letting  him  go  free.  Had  humanity 
not  enough  crimes  already  to  its  charge,  he  inquired,  that  the 
Benevolists  and  Human-progress  people  should  invent  another  ? 
Were  they  to  write  "criminal"  across  the  civihsations  and  the 
wise  and  noble  men  of  all  ages  because  some  Benevolists  at  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  had  decided  for  the  first  time 
that  slaveholding  was  immoral.  "  Would  you  sell  a  being  with 
an  immortal  soul  ?  "  the  Abohtionists  asked  Mitchel  furiously. 


xii  PREFACE    * 

"  Certainly,  Moses  and  the  Prophets  did  the  same."  "  Would 
you  send  back  a  fugitive  slave  to  his  master  ?  "  "  Assuredly — 
Paul,  the  Apostle,  very  hdnestly  sent  back  the  absconding 
Onesimus."  *'  Slave-holding,"  he  declared,  "  is  not  a  crime  and 
nobody  ever  thought  it  a  crime  until  near  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century."  "  Are  you  who  would  have  us  beligve  it  is," 
he  asked  the  dumbfounded  Benevolists,  "  better  Christians  than 
Him  who  founded  Christianity,  better  lovers  of  liberty  than  the 
Greeks  who  invented  it,  better  republicans  than  WasHington 
and  Jefferson  and  all  the  republicans  of  old  ?  "  When  his 
hysterical  opponerits  inquired  did  he  not  stand  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  inalienable  right  of  every  human  being  to  life, 
liberty,  and  happiness,  Mitchel  pointed  out  to  the  dupes  of 
this  cant  that  no  human  being  ever  had  or  could  have  such 
inalienable  right.  When  they  attempted  to  confuse  the  issue 
of  National  Liberty  with  the  social  institution  of  slave- 
holding,  Mitchel  silenced  them  by  inquiring  whether  George 
Washington  and  Thomas  Jefferson  were  inconsistent  in  assert- 
ing American  liberties  while  buying  and  using  slaves.  The 
liberty  he  fought  for  for  Ireland,  he  wrote,  was  just  the  sort  of 
liberty  the  slave-holding  Corcyraeans  asserted  against  Corinth, 
the  liberty  the  slave-holding  Corinthians  fought  for  against 
Rome,  and  the  slave-holding  Americans  wrung  from  England.  To 
"  What  was  your  principle,"  he  replied  in  a  memorable  sentence 
— "  My  principle  was  simply  that  Irishmen  were  fitted  for  a 
higher  destiny  and  sphere,  and  that  they  all  ought  to  feel  British 
dominion  as  intolerable  as  I  did — My  principle  was  that  even 
if  all  other  Irishmen  chose  to  submit  to  that  mean  tyranny,  I 
for  my  part  would  choose  rather  to  die."  When,  overthrown  in 
controversy,  the  "  Benevolists,"  and  "  Human  Progressmen,"  as 
Mitchel  contemptuously  styled  those  who  pretended  that  human 
equality  existed,  invited  Mitchel  "  to  come  back  to  them,"  his 
scornful  reply  was,  "  Come  back  to  you !  Why,  when  was  I 
ever  amongst  you  ?  "  "* 

In  the  essential  work  of  dissevering  the  case  for  Irish  inde- 
pendence from  theories  of  humanitarianism  and  universalism, 
Mitchel  raised  additional  enemies  to » those  which  his  resolute 
opposition  to  the  anti-Catholic  fanaticism  of  the  Know-Nothings 
and    his    conflict    with    the    writers   who    partly   served   the 


PREFACE  3dii 

Know-Nothings  with  an  excuse  for  existence,  had  provided  him.- 
It  is  doubtful  if  any  man  before  had  ever  arrayed  in  enmity 
to  him  so  many  elements  of  a  great  community  mutually 
detesting  each  other,  but  for  the  time  detesting  more  the  man  who* 
impartially  unmasked  and  whipped  their  various  impositions  on 
honest  living.  Allied  himibug  was  no  ^  match  for  Mitchel's 
genius  and  strength  in  controversy,  but  it  was  strong  enough  to 
injure  his  material  fortunes — a  result  he  bore  with  cheerful 
fortitude.  In  after  years  he  suffered  in  his  fortunes  by  his 
condemnation  of  the  bombast  and  "  sunburstery "  which  en- 
crusted the  Fenian  movement  in  its  decadent  stage.  The  fact  did 
not  affect  his  attitude  by  a  hairsbreadth.  Humbug  in  green 
labelUng  itself  Patriotism  was  equally  to  be  stripped  with 
humbug  in  ermine  labelled  Law  and  Government.  The  spirit 
of  Fenianism — which  was  indeed  his  own — and  its  object,  had 
his  support  but  he  declined  to  assume  its  leadership.  He 
doubted  the  efficacy  of  secret  conspiracy  to  serve  Ireland, 
and  he  had  no  illusion  as  to  the  relative,  strength  of  England 
and  Ireland  whilst  England  was  at  peace  with  the  Great 
Powers. 

Mitchel  died  as  he  lived,  in  battle  with  his  country's  enemies. 
Gifted  with  all  the  qualities  of  greatness,  but  lacking  personal 
ambition,  passionate  love  of  his  country  and  fierce  indignation 
at  her  oppression  impelled  him  into  her  pubHc  life,  and  in  all 
her  public  life  no  character  stronger  and  purer  can  be  found. 
He  strove  to  breathe  the  fire  of  his  own  soul  mto  his  country- 
men, and  his  spirit  redeems  the  most  humiliating  page  of 
Irish  History  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  imagination 
travels  back  to  the  days  of  chivalry  at  the  spectacle  of  this 
gallant  gentleman  in  a  forlorn  land  breasting  its  mighty 
oppressors — measmring  himself  singly  against  an  Empire — ^in 
no  intoxication  of  vanity  or  blinded  rage  but  because  nobility 
compelled. 

It  is  the  fate  of  fom:  great  Irishmen — Sean  O'Neill,  Jonathan 
Swift,  John  Mitchel  and  Charles  Pamell  to  have  an  inky  tribe 
of  small  Irishmen  in  every  generation  explaining  and  apologising 
for  them.  Mitchel  has  been  explained  as  one  who  merely  hated 
England,  and  apologised  for  as  a  good  man  unbalanced  by  the 
horrors  he  witnessed.    Even  his  views  on  negro-slavery  have  been 


xiv  PRE  f ACE 

depurecatingly  excused,  as  if  excuse  were  needed  for  an  Irish 
Nationalist  declining  to  hold  the  negro  his  peer  in  right.  When 
the  Irish  Nation  needs  explanation  or  apology  for  John  Mitchel 
the  Irish  Nation  will  need  its  shroud.  His  was  no  nature  to  be 
ruled  by  negatives.  His  hatred  of  England  was  the  legitimate 
child  of  the  love  of  Ireland  that  glowed  in  the  heart  of  the 
man  who  spent  his  leisure  scaling  her  hills,  tramping  her  ways 
and  communing  with  her  kindly  peasantry.  Out  of  the  love  he 
bore  to  all  things  animate  and  inanimate  in  that  Ireland  was 
bom  the  fierce  hatred  of  the  insolent  oppression  that  struck 
in  his  time  its  deadliest  blow  against  her  life.  The  flabby 
doctrine  that  has  gained  some  vogue  in  Ireland — mortally  afraid 
of  being  esteemed  behind  "  The  Age,"  or  limping  in  the  rear  of 
"  Progressive  Thought  " — that  an  Irish  Nationalist  must  by 
very  virtue  of  being  a  Nationalist  subscribe  to  and  swallow  all 
thV  Isms  of  Sentimentalism,  has  presumed  to  apologise  for 
Mitohel — even  sometimes  to  chide  his  memory — ^because  he 
laughed  at  theories  of  human  perfectability  and  equality,  and 
despised  the  altruism  which  sees  in  the  criminal  a  brother  to 
be  coaxed,  not  a  rogue  to  be  lashed.  In  a  century  which  loaded 
the  shoulders  of  Honesty  with  the  burden  of  "  reforming  "  those 
who  picked  its  pockets  and  dubbed  the  tyranny  Enlightenment, 
Benevolence,  Philanthropy,  and  Progress,  Mitchel  was  largely 
out  of  place.  He  was  a  sane  Nietzsche  in  his  view  of  man,  but 
his  sanity  was  a  century  out  of  date  back  and  forward.  Cant 
and  Humbug  were  the  ruling  gods  of  his  time,  which  he  shocked 
by  his  blasphemies  against  them.  They  are  not  dead  gods  yet. 
But  had  bis  views  been  as  wrong  on  other  questions  as  the 
apologists  beUeve  or  affect  to  believe  them  to  have  been,  no 
need  or  right  exists  to  offer  excuse  for  them.  The  right  of  an 
Irish  Nationahst  to  hold  and  champion  any  view  he  pleases, 
extraneous  to  Irish  Nationalism,  is  absolute.  The  right  of  the 
Irish  to  political  independence  never  was,  is  not,  and  never 
can  be  dependent  upon  the  admission  of  equal  right  in  all 
other  peoples.  It  is  based  on  no  theory  of,  and  dependable  in 
nowise  for  its  existence  or  justification  on  the  "  Rights  of  Man," 
it  is  independent  of  theories  of  government  and  doctrines 
of  philanthropy  and  Universalism.  He  who  holds  Ireland  a 
nation  and  all  means  lawful  to  restore  her  the  full  and  free 


PREFACE  XV 

exercise  of  national  liberties  thereby  no  more  commits  himself 
to    the    theory    that    black    equals    white,    that    kingship    is 
immoral,  or  that   society  has  a   duty  to  reform   its    enemies    * 
than    he   commits   himself    to    the    belief   that    sunshine    is 
extractable  from  cucumbers. 

Against  all  effort  to  limit  the  liberty  of  the  Irish  Nationalist 
to  think  for  himself — to  sew  on  to  the  doctrine  of  Ireland's "  .  „ 
national  independence  a  tale  of  obligation  to  the  world  at  larggit  *; "' 
— or  rather  the  sentimentalist  world  at  large — John  Mitchel  is 
the  superb  protest. 

Between  John  Mitchel  and  Louis  Kossuth  there  is  an  obvious 
comparison.  Both  were  lawyers  who  reUnquished  their  pro- 
fession and  adopted  journalism  for  the  single  purpose  of  helping 
their  country  to  independence.  Both,  when  calamity  fell  upon 
their  countries  and  its  leaders  stood  bewildered  and  appalled, 
sprang  at  the  imminent  risk  of  personal  destruction  to  the 
tribunes  and  called  their  nations  to  action.  Here  the  comparison 
begins  to  fail.  Kossuth's  country  responded  to  the  call,  Mitchel's 
country  shrank  back.  But  the  personal  likeness  between  the 
men  was  not  great  —Kossuth  was  an  enthusiastic  repubUcan  ; 
Mitchel,  a  nationalist,  "  cared  not  twopence  "  for  repubUcanism 
in  the  abstract.  Kossuth  was  a  writer  of  ability — Mitchel  a 
man  of  the  first  hterary  genius.  Finally,  Kossuth's  great  virtues 
were  clouded  by  his  vanity ;  Mitchel,  like  all  proud  men, 
had  no  vanity.  As  he  was  Kossuth's  predecessor,  not  his 
imitator,  in  1848,  so  he  was  Kossuth's  superior  save  in  fortune. 
Fortime  has  confined  the  fame  of  John  Mitchel  to  the  country 
he  served,  while  it  has  given  the  name  of  Louis  Kossuth  a 
world  significance. 

Of  Mitchel's  writings  it  can  be  said  that  he  never  wrote  a 
paragraph  which  there  is  not  an  intellectual  pleasure  in  reading, 
but  the  bulk  of  what  he  wrote  still  remains  uncollected.  A 
quality  rare,  and  growing  rarer,  marks  Mitchel's  fiercest  polemics 
— his  scrupulous  exactness  in  quotation.  He  never  misquoted 
an  opponent,  suppressed  an  adverse  argument,  explicitly  or 
implicitly  misused  an  authority.  His  inimitable  "  Jail  Journal" 
is  the  compensation  for  Ireland  recreant  to  the  call  of  the 
manUest  man  who  summoned  her  to  action  in  generations. 
In  the  poUtical  literature  of  Ireland  it  has  no   peer  outside 


-f^'- ■ 


xvi  PREFACE 

Swift.  In  the  literature  of  the  prison  it' has  no  equal.  Silvio 
Pellico's  "  Mei  Prigione "  alone  approaches  its  fascination. 
Here  a  great  character  pours  itself  out,  exalting  the  spirit  in  the 
best  of  us,  banishing  from  us  the  thought  of  pity  for  the  prisoner, 
and  replacing  it  by  exultation  in  him  whose  free  soul  no  prison 
may  confine — no  fate  can  daunt.  It  is  a  book  none  who  has 
read  once  will  not  read  again  and  again,  and  say  of  its  author — 
This  was  a  Man. 

Arthur  Griffith. 


/ 


JS 
(J 


o 

U 


; 


■/'^ 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The  Editor  is  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  the  Illustrated  London 
News  for  the  drawings  of  Mitchel  and  Meagher  in  May,  1848, 
the  illustrations  of  events  in  Ireland  in  that  year,  and  the  sketches 
of  Ireland  Island,  Bermuda  i  to  Messrs.  Henry  Dixon,  James 
Collins,  F.  J.  Biggar,  Alderman  Thomas  Kelly,  and  others 
for  many  of  the  portraits  and  photographs  herein  reproduced  ; 
and  to  Mr.  P.  S.  O  hEigeartaigh  and  Mr.  S.  O  hEigeartaigh  for^ 
the  file  of  Mitchel's  Citizen  used  in  preparing  this  edition. 


\        ^ 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTORY 


PAGE 


Irish  History  belongs  to  England — How  she  tells  it ! — Another  Ver- 
sion— Ireland  finally  subdued  five  times — ^The  Penal  Laws — 
Irish  Industry,  how  fostered — Agriculture — Our  Forefathers' 
Famines — Berkeley — Swift's  "  Proposal  "  for  a  Relief  Measure — 
Eighteen  years — Ireland  unprotected  and  unameliorated — The 
Volunteers — Project  of  the  Union — Union  carried — Famines  in 
1817  and  '22 — ^The  O'Connell  Agitations — "Emancipation" — 
Extermination — Devon  Commission — Campaign  against  the 
Celts — Slaughter — The  Last  Famine — British  Law"  helps  the 
Famine — The  Famine  helps  British  Law — Utter  Desolation — 
Project  for  Resistance  at  last — Clubs — Pikes — United  Irishman 
— Lord  Clarendon — Birch,  Privy  Counsellor  to  the  Viceroy — 
Treason  Felony — O'Brien  and  Meagher — ^Trial  by  one's  Country 
— British  Providence  works  out  His  wise  Dispensations  .  .  xxvii 

CHAPTER  I 

Newgate — ^Travelling  nToilet — Drive  to  the  North  Wall — "  No  Dis- 
turbance " — ^Hospitalities  of  the  Shearwater — Capt.  Hall  of  the 
Dragon — ^Not  Basil  Hall — Self-Interrogation — ^My  Fellow-Felons 
— Spike  Island — Edward  Walsh — Order  for  removal  to  Bermuda 
The  Scourge  War  Steamer — At  Sea      .  .  .  .1 

CHAPTER  II 

Yachting  in  the  Scourge — "  Two  Years  before  the  Mast  " — Review 
of  an  Edinburgh  Reviewer — The  Nineteenth  Century — Bom- 
barding the  Moon' — ^Macaulay  on  Bacon — The  New  Philosophy 
— Chasing  our  own  Shadows—Good  Night,  Nineteenth  Century  ! 
— Bermuda — "  Ireland  Island  "  .  .  .  •       19 

CH-^PTER  III 

An  English  Steamer — The  Morning  Post — Edmund  Burke  Roche — 
The  "  Irish  Felon  " — Handed  over  to  a  Man  in  Blue — Receipt 
taken — Hospitalities  of  the  Dromedary — Genesis  and  Growth  of 
the  Bermudas — Description  of  my  cell — Precaijtions  against 
Mutiny — Removed  to  an  Hospital-ship  for  ten  days — Back  again 
— The  Devil's  Acre,  or  Cemetery  of  Cut-throats — Sympathy  in 
New  York — Precautions  at  Bermuda  against  an  American  Squad- 
ron— Prison  Biography — Suicide,  pro  and  contra — The  42nd 
Highlanders — Discipline — Letter  from  Ireland  .  .  •       36 

CHAPTER  IV 

Preftautions  against  my  Receipt  of  News  from  Ireland — "  The  last 
Planks  of  the  Constitution  " — Contraband  Intelligence — English 
Chartists  Imprisoned — Meagher  Arrested — ^Martin,  Wi  lliams  and 
O'Poherty   committed    "  for   Felony  " — ^Warrant    ovit   agaipst 


XX  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

O'Brien — "  Government  "  will  have  to  pack  Juries — Duties  of 
Juries  in  Ireland — Method  of  Rigmarole — "  Books  " — Feeding 
like  the  Laplanders  or  the  Ducks  of  Pontus — Necessity  of  Work 
— Autobiographies — Gifior|l|  Elwood  and  Crichton — Gibbon, 
Evelyn,  and  Rosseau — SulKy  Prisoners — Cut-throats  attending 
Divine  Service — More  Contraband  Intelligence — John  Martin 
transported — Habeas  Corpus  Act  suspended — Gaols  full — 
Dumeis — Attempted  Insurrection  in  Tipperary — Failure — Flight 
— Famine — Clonmel  Juries         .  .  .  .  -55 

CHAPTER  V 

London  paper  falls  from  Heaven — O'Brien,  Meagher,  MacManus, 
O'Donoghue,  Sentenced  to  Death — Kindness  of  the  Spirit  of  the 
Age — General  Estimate  of  the  Results  of  this  Irish  Movement— 
— O'Connell's  Son  and  the  Catholics — Letter  from  New  York — 
The  French  Republic  and  the  Carthaginian  Newspapers — Herr 
._  Doppelganger  Expostulates  with  the  Ego — Republicanism  in  the 
Abstract — In  the  Concrete — France  marches  in  the  Van — Doppel- 
ganger severely  handled  in  Argument — Doppelganger  stands  out 
— The  Credit-funds,  Peace  and  Progress — Courage,  Jacobins  ! — 
The  Ego  leaves  Herr  Doppelganger  not  a  leg  to  stand  upon — 
"  Arterial  Drainage "   .  .  .  .  .  -74 

CHAPTER  VI 

Escape  of  Three  Cut-throats — Hot  pursuit — Capture — Solemn  mang- 
ling of  the  Cut-throats — Six  Months  in  Bermuda — Sickness — 
More  Bad  Books — Life  of  Walter  Scott — of  Cowper — Fall 
back  on  Rabelais — Shakespeare  for  ever  I — Sir  Alexander  Bumes 
— His  Journey  up  the  Indus — Takes  Soundings  for  British  War 
Steamers-^Surveys  Hyderabad  with  a  View  to  British  Burglary 
— Examines  the  Capacities  of  Lahore  for  British  Cotton  and' 
Christianity — Takes  the  Measure  of  the  Koh-i-noor  in  the  interests 
of  Civilisation — Band  of  the  42nd — Captain  Alexander's  Book — 
Sickness — Medical  Superintendent  tells  me  I  am  going  to  die 
soon — Note  to  the  Governor  of  Bermuda  .  .  .94 


CHAPTER  VII      ' 

The  "  First  Mate  " — Goethe  never  in  the  Galleys — Prospect  of  a  Ship 
for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope — "  Trial  "  and  Doom  of  O'Doherty — 
The  Catholic  Clergy — Christmas  on  board  the  Dromedary — ^News 
of  Election  of  Louis  Napoleon  for  President — Deadly  Sickness, 
and  Living  against  Time — Literary  Deposit,  in  Six  Strata — 
Uses  of  Bad  Books — Metaphysics — Bermuda  a  School  of  Re- 
formation— Irish  Prisoners  graduate  for  the  Gallows — Criminal 

j^»,*  Jurisprudence — A  Plea  for  the  Drop — Prayer  for  the  Soul  of 
Walter  Scott — Order  to  despatch  me  to  the  Cape — A  "  Spirit  of 
Disaffection  "  in  Ireland  still — Sad  !      .  .  .  •     113 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Ten  Months'  Bondage — Arrival  of  the  Neptune,  Bound  for  the  Cape 
— Perils  of  British  Rule  in  Ireland — Trial  of  the  Editor  of  the 
Nation — Editor  a  Recreant— Removal  to  the  Hospital  Ship 
again — Reflections  unusually  Pious — JSfews  frojn  Europe  and 


*^.  ■ 


CONTENTS  Jod 

PAGk 

Asia — Lord  Gough  in  the  Punjab — ^Imaginary  Programme  of 
European  Movements — Preparing  for  Voyage  to  Africa — ^Pheno- 
mena of  Memory — If^itocence  of  Childhood — The  Pen  of  Rig- 
marole— ^The  Scourge  again — British  Public  Opinion — ^Parlia- 
mentary Falsehoods  by  Admiral  Dundas  and  Lord  Lansdowne — 
At  Sea  once  more — Bright  Prospects — O'Connell,  a  Portrait — 
Conversation  with  "  Surgeon-Superintendent  "  .  .128 

CHAPTER  IX 

An  American  Brig — Stray  copy  of  the  Daily' News — ^Memorial  on  be- 
half of  Mr.  Duffy — The  Failure  at  Ballingarry — ^Arms  Bills — Use 
of  Riots — French  Army  besieging  Rome — "Order" — Hungary 
holds  her  Ground — Revi©<(^of  my  Shipmates — Becalmed  for 
many  Weeks — Sickness — -Short  of  Water — The  Dead  to  the 
Sharks — Tropic  Seas — Danger  of  Mutiny — ^The  Parson  Fright- 
ened— Pernambuco — Oranges — Slaves — No  "  Facts  "  in  my 
Journal — Humboldt's  Howling  Monkeys — Cyanometer — English  ^i 

Papers  at  Pernambuco — Six  Irish  Rebels  on  their  Way  to  Van 
Diemen's  Land — Two  American  Skippers — Prince  Louis  Napo- 
leon on  this  Coast — Home  Secretary  thinks  me  Dead — Brazilians 
"  Lazy  Foreign  Lubbers  "  .  .  .  ,  .144 

CHAPTER   X 

Slaves  and  Slave-trade  in  Brazil — Benevolent  Pirates — Elections  in 
Brazil — Vanish  South  America — Ocean  Visions — Lessons  from 
Sea-Pigeons — British  Convict  System — The  Railway  Swindler — 
The  Railway  King — Habits  dilBritish  Soldiers — Promotion  to 
the  Hulks — Night  at  Sea — Thg^Irish  Prisoners — Dismal  Songs — 
The  Cape  of  Good  Hope — fitfica,,  Beware  ! — Africa  brings  forth 
A  liquid  Novi  *.  .  .  .  .  .  .     159 

CHAPTER  XI 

Ferment  at  the  Cape — British  Governor  under  Duress — "  Anti-Con- 
vict Association  " — News  of  O'Brien  and  the  "  Traitors  " — 
Neptune  at  Anchor — Simon's  Bay — Cape  Heaths  and  Geranium 
— Anti-C^^ict  Council  of  War — Simultaneous  Meetings — Note 
from  the  Governor — Anti-Convict  Pledge — Starvation — Dr. 
Dees  falls  Sick — Excitement  Increases — Cape  Newspapers — The 
Bandieten — The  i8th  of  August  in  Zwartland — ^The  Boers — 
Starvation — Fishing  to  support  Existence — Non-intercourse — 
Steward  of  the  Neptune — Our  Skipper  Ashore — People  will  hold 
no  Intercourse — Indignation  of  the  Men-of- War's  Men — Commo- 
dore rides  on  a  Foray   ......     175 

CHAFER  XII 

"  Committee  of  Vigilance  " — Business  at  a  stand  in  Capetown — The 
Moderates  and  Immoderates — Dr.  Dees  Dead — ^A  Rebel  Bishop 
— Violent  Ferment  in  the  Interior — -Advantage  of  Inhabiting  a 
Sphaeroid — ^Rage  of  the  Colonists — Resolution  to  shut  Shops — 
Mr.  Ebden — Fairbaim,  able  Editor — ^Mynheer  Smuts — Chances 
of  a  Revolt — Cape  Wines — ^Traitors  Excommunicated — 
Benjamin  Norden — Captain  Stanford  feeds  Sir  Harry — The 
Neptune  "  Instructor  "  would  a-shopping  go — No  Intercourse — 
Solemn  Fast — ^Secretary  Montague — -The  Coolies  now  Hungry 
— ^Mobs— Suggestion  for  Sir  Harry — ^Wives  or  reputed  Wives  .      188 


( 


\J 


xxii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII 

i'AGE 

News  from  Europe — Hungary  still  holds  her  Ground — "  Opinion 
stronger  than  Arms  " — Dublin  Nation,  New  Series — Queen  in 
Ireland — Tim  O'Brien — Young  Ireland  nowhere — Her  Majesty 
in  a  "  green  silk  visite  " — Does  not  visit  Skibbereen — ^Thomas 
Carlyle  in  Ireland — Despatch  from  England — Hungary  is  down 
— Kossuth  and  Bem — Hungary  Immortal — England  in  Asia — 
England  in  Europe — The  "  Future  of  America  " — Dublin  Nation 
again — The  Irishman — Government  Massacre  in  Ireland — A 
Slave-ship — The  Southern  Hemisphere — Confusion  of  Feasts  «md 
Fasts — The  Anti-Convict  Association — Letter  of  W.  P.  Laubscher 
— Letter  of  Hendrick  Morkel     .....     201 


CHAPTER  XIV 

No  Despatch — "  Wearing  the  Ring  of  our  Anchor  " — An  Alarm — 
Victor  of  Aliwal  shall  not  have  a  Statue — Curious  Law-suit — 
Plaintiffs  and  Defendants  Repudiate  the  Judges — News  of  the 
"  Felons  "  in  Van  Diemen's  Land — Despatch  at  Last — Con-y 
ditional  Pardon  to  all  on  Board — "  Except  Prisoner  Mitchel  " — 
Pleasing  Anticipations — English  Newspapers — Ireland  Tranquil 
— Neptune    gets    ready    for    Sea — Rejoicings — Illuminations — 
Good-night  to  Africa — Van  Diemen's  Land  Appears — D'Entre- 
casteaux'  Channel — Hobart  Town — Official  Documents — ^Ticket- 
of-Leave — Parole — The  Irish  Exile,  Newspaper — A  Smoke  with 
John  Martin     .  .  .  .  .  .  .     214 

i 

CHAPTER   XV 

Valley  of  Bothwell — The  Gum-trees — Balsam  in  the  Forest — Rendez- 
vous at  Lake  Sorel — Snow-Storm  in  the  Woods — Lake  Crescent 
— Cooper's  Hut — Meeting  with  Meagher  and  O'Doherty — Evil 
Plight  of  Smith  O'Brien— The  "  Dog's  Head  "—Ride  to 
Bothwell  .....  .  .  .  .     229 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Taismanian  Hills — A  Scottish  Glen  in  Van  Diemen's  Land — Letter 
from  Smith  O'Brien — Generosity  of  the  "  British  Public  " —  ^ 
Colonists  at  Home — Irish  Newspapers — Conciliation  Hall — Irish 
Factions  in  New  York — Rebels  at  Church — Rebels  at  the  Lakes 
— "  Reformatory  Discipline  " — Write  for  my  Family — Visit 
from  MacManus — The  Lakes  again — The  River  Shannon — ^A 
Rhapsody  of  Rivers — Clarence  Mangan — Sample  of  Tasmanian 
Population — Hiatus  in  the  Journal — Go  to  Hobart  Town  to 
receive  my  Wife  ......     239       Hy 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Ride  to  Brown's  River — Gardens — Flowers  of  Van  Diemen's  Land — 
Kindly  Climate — Breeds  of  Dogs  and  Horses — Mea  and  Women 
— A  Beauty — St.  Kevin — Romantic  residence  for  Burglars — My 
Wife  arrives  at  Adelaide — Expected  at  Launceston^I  go  to 
Launceston — Imprisonment  there  for  24  hours — Mr.  Gunn — 
Letter  to  the  Colonial  Times — Arrival  of  my  Wife  in  Hobart 
Town — Meeting  at  Greenponds — Back  to  Bothwell       .  .     25X 


CONTENTS  xxiii 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


PAGE 


Nant  Cottage-^Ride  to  Avoca — ^Visit  to  Mr.  O'Brien — ^Vigour  of  Sir 
W.  Denison — "  Clemency  "  of  Government — Van  Diemen's 
Land  Stage-coaches — ^Tasmania  a  Bastard  England — ^Van  Die- 
men's  Land  Election — ^Anti-Transportation — ^The  Australasian 
League — Balfe — Policy  of  the  Gaoler  Party — ^Valley  of  Avoca — 
Meeting  with  O'Brien — A  Day  spent  with  Him — ^The  Priests  of 
Tipperary — His  Attempt  to  Escape  from  Maria  Island — Return 
to  Bothwell      .  .  .  .  i  ,  .     260 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A  Family  of  Irish  ColoniSts^-Mrs.  Connell  and  the  BuShrailgers — Ride 
up  the  Mountains^ — Meagher  and  His  Dog- — ^Lake  Sorel  on  the 
Mountain-top — Visit  to  Meagher's  Cottage— Meagher  aids  the 
**  League  "—Loveliness  of  Lake  Sorel-^Tricolour  and  Fleur-de- 
lis — Ride  to  Nant  Cottage^^ Young  Kangaroo — Hiatus  in  the 
Journal — ^New  Year's  Day,  1853 — Stupor  and  Torpor  of  our  Life 
— ^No  Thunder  and  Lightning — KdsSutii  In  America^— Meagher  in 
America  ......  4     a-ji 

CHAPTER  XX 

A  Kangaroo-hunt — Dean  and  Dart — Incredible  Sagacity— Thred  .  ^ 
Kangaroos  killed — Philosophic  Reflections- — ^My  Convict  Hay- 
makers— Descent  into  Hell — Letter  from  Devin  Reilly — Reilly 
on  the  Republicans — ^His  interview  with  Kossuth — ^An  Intel- ' 
lectual  Kalmuck — ^The  Celt  Lectures  the  Kalmuck — Reilly  and 
the  Democratic  Review — His  Sorrows — His  Wife — Senator  Doug- 
las, "  Spicy  to  the  Core  "  .  .  .  .  .     282 

CHAPTER  XXI 

Reilly's  Letter — Failure  of  The  People— The  Whig  Review-^A  Gascon 
Irishman — A  Scarlet  Democrat,  Piratic  and  Honest — Mr.  Corry 
— Irish  Affairs — ^The  Priests  and  Holy  Wells — Destiny  of  Reilly  . 
— Haymaker  goes  to  the  Diggings — ^A  Stranger  Appears  amongst 
us — ^P.  ^.-^  Smyth — ^Meeting  with  O'Doherty  and  O'Brien- 
Smyth  in  Hobart  Town — ^We  visit  O'Brien  at  New  Norfolk- 
Consultations  about  Escape — ^To  Bothwell — Smyth  Reconnoitres  *  ' 
the  Police  Office — His  Life  in  America — Daylight  begins  to 
dawn    ....... 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Smyth  at  Lake  Sorel — Goes  to  Melbourne — I  buy  the  Police  Magis- 
trate's Horse — ^Letter  from  Nicaragua — ^The  Water  lily — Plan  of 
Escape — Plan  Discovered — Council  of  War — Arrest  of  Nicaragua 
— I  visit  Hobart  Town — Resolution  taken — New  Plan  of  Escape 
— ^We  ride  into  Bothwell — I  revoke  my  Parole  before  the 
Magistrate — Conversation  at  Police  Office — Offer  Myself  for 
Arrest — ^Adieu  to  Bothwell — A  Day's  Hard  Riding — A  Winter's 
Night  in  the  Forest — Job  Sims'  Cottage — ^The  Beard  Movement 
— An  English  Guide — ^Meet  a  new  Friend  on  the  Mountains — 
Ride  to  Westbury — ^News  of  Nicaragua — ^The  Police  Force  on 
the  alert  ....... 


•e* 


^0' 


294 


304 


xxiv  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


I'AG^ 


Nicaragua  in  Hobart  Town — The  Don  Juan — Rendeevous  at  Emu 
Bay — Winter  Floods — Emu  Bay  inaccessible — Express  to  the 
Don  Juan — -Ride  to  Port  Sorel — Savage  Country — Home  of  an 
Irish  Settler— ^Irish  Customs — A  Caoine  in  the  Bush — Crossing 
a  Ravine — -Another  Night  in  the  Woods — -The  Sea  at  Last  !^ 
'  No  Don  Juan — -At  Mr.  Miller's. — -Miller  an  Englishman — Retreat 
within  a  Mile  of  a  Police-Barrack — Project  to  Sail  as  Miller's 
Brother — -Messengers  from  Launceston — Severe  Riding — Boating 
patty  proposed — Night  Expedition  down  the  Tamar     .  .318 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Another  Disappointment — Flight  down  the  River-^Barrett's  Boat-— 

We  Miss  the  Steamer — 'Back  to  Launceston — The  Chapel  House 

'  — 'Father  Blake — Meeting  with  O'Doherty — 'Father  Blake  at 

Hobart  Town— Nicaragua — Mr.  Davis  unhappy — ^To  Sail  by  the 

Emma — -Farewell  to  Van  Diemen's  Land — -Sydney         .  .     330 

CHAPTER  XXV 

Sydney — My  Wife  at  Wooloomooloo — The  Orkney  Lass — Take  Pas- 
sage for  Honolulu — Dangerous  Delays — Sail  for  the  Sandwich 
Islands — My  Fellow-Voyagers — Four  Actresses — ^Tahiti — Papeete 
— Actresses  give  a  Concert — French  Frigate — Le  Forte — Ride  up 
the  Fowtowa  River — Bass's  Pale  Ale — ^Gala  at  Queen  Pomare's 
Palace — The  Tahitian  Girls — The  Julia  A  nn  appears — The  Stars 
and  Stripes — OfE  for  San  Francisco — California — Isthmus  of 
Nicaragua — The  San  Juan  River — Grey  town     .  .  .     340 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

Greytown — The  Pampero — Cuba  and  the  Cubans — -News  from  Europe 
— The  Czar  is  up — Refreshment  for  the  Refugees — -Kossuth— 
Mazzini — -Ireland^— Leaving  Greytown — -Nicaragua  lectures  on 
Central  America — -Arrive  at  Cuba — The  Moro — Havana — Atares 
Castle — Cuba  and  Ireland — Captain-General's  Palace — Dublin 
Castle — Pass  near  Bermuda — Doubts — -New  York  at  last — 
Brooklyn  ....  ...     353 

THE  CONTINUATION 

The  New  York  Reception — Foundation  of  "  The  Citizen  " — Mitchel 
and  the  Russian  Minister — The  Know-Nothing  Agitation — The 
Release  of  Smith  O'Brien — The  Virginian  Address — Irish 
Organisations  in  America — The  Controversy  with  Archbishop 
Hughes — At  Stonington — "  Anglo-Saxonism  "  in  New  York — 
New  York  and  the  Irish  Political  Prisoners — Retirement  frotn 
"  The  Citizen  " — Miles  Byrne — Marshal  MacMahon — Mitchel's 
Children — Mitchel  and  Victor  Hugo — Mitchel  and  Fenianism — 
Mitchel  at  the  Irish  College — Napoleon's  Irish  Legion — Mitchel's 
Final  Departure  from  France    .....     367 

APPENDICES 

I.  The  Famine  Year — II.  The  Mitchel-Duffy  Con|:roversy— III.  The 
Cape  and  Mitchel — IV.  The  Cuban  Filil!>usters — V.  Mitchel 
County,  Iowa    .  .  .  .  .  ,  .421 

Contemporaries  Mentioned  in  the  Jail  Journal  .  .     433 

Mitchel's  Escape  :  Letter  to  Mr,  "  Miller  "  .  .  .     451 

Index         ........     433 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


John  Mitchel        .....  frontispiece 

John  Mitchel.     A  sketch  in  May,  1848     .... 

Trial  of  Mitchel  ...... 

The  Bench  at  the  Opening  of  the  Commission  which  Convicted 
Mitchel,  May,  1848    ...... 

Newgate  Prison  .  ,  .  .  .  . 

Mitchel's  Dublin  Residence  in  1848     .... 

Fortifications  and^  Dockyard  of  Ireland  Island,  Bermuda, 
IN  1848  ...  .... 

View  of  Ireland  Island,  Bermuda,  1848,  showing  Batteries,  the 
Medway,  the  Coromandel,  the  Dromedary,  Victualling  Stores, 
Keep,  and  Commissioner's  House 

View  of  Ireland  Island,  Bermuda,  1848,  showing  the  Naval 
Hospital,  the  Tenedos,  the  Weymouth,  the  Stone  Quarry, 
Cockburn's  Cut  and  Bridge      ..... 

The  Convict  Garb  at  Bermuda  in  1848 

The  Mitchel  Family  Residence,  Dromolane  House,  Newry  . 

Forging  Pikes,  1848         ...... 

British  Military  Camp  at  Tipperary,  July,  1848 

The  Arrest  of  Smith  O'Brien  at  Thurles  Railway  Station  . 

Trial  of  Smith  O'Brien  at  Clonmel,  1848 

Removal  of  Smith  O'Brien  to  Prison  under  Sentence  of  Death 

William  Smith  O'Brien,  J848     ..... 

John  Martin,  1848  .  .  . 

John  Martin,  about  1865  ..... 

Father  John  Kenyon      .  . 

Thomas  Francis  Meagher.     A  sketch  in  May,  1848 

Brig.-Gen.  Thomas  Francis  Meagher 

John  Blake  Dillon 

Thomas  Devin  Reilly      . 

Michael  Doheny 

Terence  Bellew  MacManus 

Kevin  Izod  O'Doherty   . 

"  Eva  "  of  "  The  Nation,"  Mrs.  Kevin  O'Doherty 

XXV 


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320 


^ 


Xxvl 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Charles  Gavan  Duffy 

John  Savage,  1848 

D 'Alton  Williams 

P.  J,  Smyth  :    "  Nicaragua  " 

John  Mitchel.     Paris,  1861 

Facsimile  Letter,  John  Mitchel  to  John  O'Mahony 

John  Mitchel.     The  last  portrait,  1875     . 

A  TiPPERARY  Eviction  in  1848    . 

After  the  Eviction         .... 


Facirie 
patre 

352 

352 
368 

384 
400 
416 
432 


INTRODUCTORY   :       ' \ 

England  has  been  left  in  possession  not  only  of  tlie  Soil  of 
Ireland,  with  all  that  grows  and  lives  thereon,  txS^her  own  use. 
but  in  possession  of  the  world's  ear  also.    Sl^may  pour  into, 
it  what  tale  she  will :   and  all  mankind  will  believe  her. 

Success  confers  every  right  in  this  Enlightened  Age  ;  >vherein,  - 
for  the  first  time,  it  has  come  to  be  admitted  and  proclaimed  in 
set  terms,  that  Success  is  Right  and  Defeat  is  Wrong;  ^    If  I*5r  *' 
profess  myself  a  disbeliever  in  that  gospel,  the  Enlightened  Age    .  • 
will  only  smile,  and  say,  "  The  defeated  always  are."     Britain     ~-:^ 
being  in  possession  of  the  floor,  any  hostile  comment  upon  her 
way  of  telling  our  story  is  an  unmannerly  interruption  ;    nay,> 
is  nothing  short  of  an  Irish  howl. 

And  if  Ireland  be  indeed  conquered  finally  and  irredeenic 
it  would  be  useless  to  importune  the  busy  public  (which  has' 
good  heart  enough,  but  really  no  time  to  attend  to  the  grievances 
of  mendicants),  with  any  contradiction  to  the  British  story. — 
A  touching  and  sanctimonious  tale  it  is ! — barbarian  Celtic 
nature  for  ever  revolting  in  its  senseless,  driftless  way,  against 
the  genius  of  British  civilisation — generous  efforts  for  the  amelior- 
ation of  "  that  portion  of  the  United  Kingdom,"  met  for  ever 
by  brutal  turbulence,  "  crime  and  outrage,"  suspicion,  ingrati- 
tude— British  Benevolence  stretching  forth  its  open  hand  to  *, 
relieve  those  same  turbulent  but  now  starving  wretches,  when 
Heaven  smote  the  land  with  Famine — the  anxieties,  the  cares, 
the  expenses,  that  an  unthrifty  island  cost  her  more  prosperous 
sister,  who  would  not,  for  ail  that,  desert  her  in  her  extremity,  # 
but  would  ameliorate  her  to  the  last. 

So  it  runs  ;  and  so  it  might  pass  unchallenged  for  ever,  if  one 
could  believe  that  the  last  conquest  of  Ireland  was  indeed  the 
final  cmd  crowning  conquest.  But  that  Nation  has  been  so  often 
dead  and  buried,  and  has  so  often  been  bom  again — one  and 
the  Same  man  sometimes  both  assisting  at  the  rocking  of  her 
cradle,  and  as  chief-mourner  following  her  hearse,  that  there  is 
no  trusting  to  this  seeming  death.  Mountjoy  gave  Ireland  to 
Elizabeth,  "  Nothing  buti^carcases  and  ashes,"  dead  enough. 
In  half  a  century,  the  carcases  are  armed  men,  the  ashes  flaming 
fire  ;  and  an  Oliver  Cromwell  has  to  come  over  to  smite  and  to 
slay  again.  Ireland  was  conquered  by  Cromwell,  literally  and  * 
universally.  The  cause  of  Ireland — Ireland  as  against  England 
— ^was  what  all  men  would  call  lost:   her  castles  rifted  by  the 

xxvii 


xxviii  INTRODUCTORY 

regicide's  cannon ;  her  fields  laid  waste,  and  the  inheritance  of 
them  given  to  strangers  ;  her  best  and  bravest  in  bloody  graves, 
or  wasting  and  weltering  in  the  Western  Indies  ; — at  her  sister's 
feet  she  lay  a  corpse.  A  few  years  pass  ;  she  is  not  yet  cold 
in  her  grave — and  again  all  Europe  hears  the  clang  of  aims  in 
Ireland.  Again  the  cause  is  Ireland  against  England,  though 
the  flags  be  the  flags  of  Stuart  against  Orange-Nassau.  Though 
the  war-cry  be  "  Righ  Seamus  Abu\"  yet  the  war  means  Ireland 
for  the  Irish. 

And  again,  a  King  and  Deliverer  of  England  comes  over  the 
sea  to  crush,  kill,  and  trample  Ireland — and  again  Ireland  dies : 
on  the  Bojme  stream  her  heart's  blood  runs  to  the  sea  ;  at  the 
"  Break  of  Aughrim-^'  her  neck  is  broken  ;  and  when  the  Wild 
Geese  fly  from  Limerick,  England  feels  at  last  secure :  surely 
this  time  her  sister  and  mortal  enemy  is  dead  past  all  resurrection. 

Not  yet !  Another  gloomy  and  uneasy  century  drags  along  ; 
the  age  of  the  Penal  Laws.  The  English  Government  never  yet 
observed  any  single  treaty  which  it  was  convenient  for  them  to 
break  ;  and  having  solemnly  agreed  by  the  capitulation  of 
Limerick  not  to  impose  penalties  for  Catholic  worship,  and  having 
so  disarmed  the  Catholic  forces  and  ended  the  war,  that  Govern- 
ment, as  a  matter  oi  course,  at  once  imposed  penal  laws  through 
their  servile  Anglo-Irish  Parliament.  Everybody  has  heard  of 
the  terrible  Penal  Laws  ;"but  not  everybody  knows  what  they 
were. 

They  took  charge  of  every  Catholic  from  his  cradle,  and 
attended  him  to  his  grave — Catholic  children  could  only  be 
educated  by  Protestant  teachers  at  home  ;  and  it  was  highly 
penal  to  send  them  abroad  for  education. 

Catholics  were  excluded  from  every  profession,  except  the 
medical,  and  from  all  official  stations  without  exception. 

Catholics  were  forbidden  to  exercise  trade  or  commerce  in 
any  corporate  town.  , 

Catholics  were  legally  disqualified  to  hold  leases  of  land  for         ( 
a  longer  tenure  than  thirty-one  years  ;   and  also  disqualified  to  ^ 

inherit  the  lands  of  Protestant  relatives. 

A  Catholic  could  not  legally  possess  a  horse  of  greater  value 
than  five  pounds  ;  and  any  true  Protestant  meeting  a  Catholic 
with  a  horse  of  fifty  or  sixty  poimds  in  value,  might  lay  do\^n  the 
legal  price  of  five  poimds,  imhorse  the  idolator,  rnount  in  his 
place  and  ride  away. 

A  Catholic  child,  turning  Protestant,  could  sue  his  parents 
for  maintenance  ;  to  be  determined  by  the  Protestant  Court  of 
Chancery. 

A  Catholic's  eldest  son,  turning  Protestant,  reduced  his  father 
to  a  tenant  for  life,  the  reversion  to  the  convert. 

A  Catholic  priest  could  not  celebrate  Mass,  under  severe 


INTRODUCTORY  xxix 

penalties  ;   but  any  priest  who  recanted  was  secured  a  stipend 
by  law. 

Here  was  a  code  for  the  promotion  of  true  religion  ;  from 
whence  it  may  appear,  that  Catholics  have  not  been  the  only 
persecutors  in  the  world.  Some  persons  may  even  go  so  far 
as  to  say  that  no  Catholic  Government  ever  yet  conceived  in 
its  heart  so  fell  a  system  of  oppression.  However,  it  may  be  a 
circumstance  in  favour  of  the  Protest^t  code  (or  it  may  not), 
that  whereas  Catholics  have  really  persecuted  for  religion, 
enlightened  Protestants  only  made  a  pretext  of  reUgion — tsddng 
no  thought  what  became  of  Catholic  souls,  if  only  they  ctmld 
get  possession  of  Catholic  lands  and  goods.  Alas,  we  may- 
remark,  that  Catholic  Governments,  in  their  persecutions, 
always  really  desired  the  conversion  of  misbelievers  (all^t"; 
their  method  was  rough) — but  in  Ireland  if  the  people  had 
universally  turned  Protestant,  it  would  have  defeated  the  whole 
scheme. 

Edmund  Burke  calls  this  Penal  Code  "  a  machine  of  wise  and 
deliberate  contrivance  as  well  fitted  for  the  oppression,  im- 
poverishment and  degradation  of  a  people,  and  the  debasement 
in  them  of  human  nature  itself,  as  ever  proceecfed  from  the 
perverted  ingenuity  of  man.'/  Singular,  that  it  originated 
with  the  "  Glorious  Revolution,"  and  was  in  full  force  during 
the  reign  of  William  the  Deliverer,  ^Anne,  and  the  three  first 
gracious  Georges !  \ 

And  it  answered  the  purpose.    The  Irish^-people  were  im- 
poverished and  debased.     And  so  the  Englisn^  having  forbidden      , 
them  for  generations  to  go  to  school,  became  entitled  to  taunt^ 
them  with  ignorance  :   and  having  deprived  them  of  lands,  and 
goods,  and  trade,  magnanimously  mock  their  poverty,  and  call 
them  tatterdemalions. 

During  that  eighteenth  century,  the  Catholics  disappear  from  '^ 
history  and  politics.  Such  sallies  of  resistance  as  were  made 
in  those  years  against  the  encroachment  of  British  power,  were 
made  by  Protestants  (Swift,  Lucas,  Molyneux),  in  assertion  of 
a  Protestant  Nationality,  and  for  the  independence  of  a  Pro--.:^^ 
testant  Parliament.  Indeed,  when  the  Protestant  Dissenters  of 
England  argued  'for  the  repeal  of  the  Corporation  Act  and  Test 
Act,  which  prevented  them  from  holding  certain  State  offices. 
Dean  Swift,  the  Irish  patriot,  wrote  a  sarcastic  petition,  as  if 
from  the  Irish  Catholics,  praying  that  they  might  be  relieved 
from  their  penal  disabilities;  in  order  to  cast  ridicule  and 
discredit  on  the  pretensions  of  Dissenters,  by  way  of  reductio  ad 
absurdum — ^We  will  have  the  very  Catholics,  said  he,  coming 
in  ne^t ! 

We  might  well  expect,   by  the  close  of   that  century,   to 
find  Irelfind  altogether  Anghcised — the  C?itholics  all  clead  or 


:^l*:- 


XXX  INTRODUCTORY 

converted — the  ruling  classes  so  completely  British  in  their 
feelings  as  well  as  by  their  extraction  that  England  would 
never  more  need  to  fear  the  uprising  of  a  hostile  Irisl^ Nation. 
Ireland  was  to  all  human  appearance  dead  and  buried  this 
time. 

And  in  truth  so  she  might  have  lain  for  ever,  if  the  English 
could  have  repressed  their  national  greediness  (or  "  energy  ") 
but  a  little.  But  it  was  impossible.  The  ruling  class  of  Ireland, 
albeit  Protestants,  were  soon  taught  that  they  were  not  to 
expect  to  be  placed  on  an  equal  footing  with  men  "  whose 
limbs  were  made  in  England."  E!5tpress  enactments  were  made, 
to  put  an  end  to  several  branches  of  their  trade,  and  to  cramp 
and  restrict  others.*  Agriculture,  too,  which  is  the  main 
concern  of  every  nation,  was  accurately  regulated  in  Ireland 
with  ^view  to  British  interests.  One  hundred  years  ago, 
IrelanOTimported  much  corn  from  England;  because  it  then 
suited  the  purpose  of  the  other  island  to  promote  Irish  sheep- 
farming  in  order  to  provide  wool  for  the  Yorkshire  weavers. 
Tillage  and  cattle-feeding  were  discouraged  ;  therefore  the  Irish 
were  forbidden  to  export  black-cattle  to  England.  Sheep  then 
became  the  more  profitable  stock,  and  the  port  of  Barnstaple 

*  In  1699  the  manufacture  of  wool  into  cloth  was  totally  destroyed  in 
Ireland  by  law.  Acts  of  the  British  and  Irish  Parliaments  (the  latter 
being  wholly  subject  to  the  former)  prohibited  the  export  of  woollen  cloth 
from  Ireland  to  any  country  whatsoever,  except  to  England  and  Wales. 
The  exception  was  delusive,  because  duties  amounting  to  a  prohibition 
prevented  the  Irish  cloth  from  entering  England  or  Wales.  Before  that 
time  Ireland  had  a  good  trade  in  woollen  drapery  with  foreign  countries, 
and  undersold  the  English.  Therefore  the  British  Parliament  addressed 
King  William,  urging  him  to  suppress  the  trafl&c.  The  House  of  Lords 
used  this  language — "  Wherefore  we  most  humbly  beseech  your  most 
sacred  Majesty,  that  your  Majesty  would  be  pleased,  in  the  most  public 
and  effectual  way  that  may  be,  to  declare  to  all  your  subjects  of  Ireland, 
that  the  growth  and  increase  of  the  woollen-manufactures  there  hath  long 
been,  and  will  be  ever,  looked  upon  with  great  jealousy  by  all  your  subjects 
of  this  kingdom,  and  if  not  timely  remedied,  may  occasion  very  itrict  laws 
totally  to  prohibit  it  and  suppress  the  same."  King  William  the  Deliverer, 
replied  that  he  would  do  his  utmost  to  ruin  his  Irish  subjects. — "  He  would 
do  all  that  in  him  lay  to  discourage  the  woollen  manufactures  of  Ireland." 
— And  he  was  as  good  as  his  word.  Acts  of  Parliament  were  very  shortly 
after  passed,  whose  effect  was  that  Irish  wool  had  to  be  sent  to  England 
raw  to  be  manufactured  in  Yorkshire. — And  there  it  goes  in  fleece,  and 
thence  a  very  little  of  it  returns  in  broadcloth  up  to  this  day.  Add  to 
this  the  Navigation  Laws  ;  and  the  absolute  prohibition  of  all  direct  Irish 
trade  with  the  Colonies — no  Colonial  produce  being  admitted  into  Ireland 
until  it  had  first  entered  an  English  port  and  been  unloaded  there  ;  and 
you  will  be  at  no  loss  to  find  out  how  the  English  became  so  rich  a  nation 
and  the  Irish  so  poor. 

Of  these  laws  the  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's  wrote — "  The  conveniency  of 
ports  and  havens  which  nature  hath  bestowed  so  liberally  upon  this  king- 
dom, is  of  no  more  use  to  v?s  tha,n  a,  beautiful  prospect  to  4  rnj^n  pbut  up 
itj  di,  dungeon," 


INTRODUCTORY  xxxi 

was  opened  to  receive  all  their  fleeces.  But  soon  after,  when 
England  had  full  possession  of  the  woollen  manufacture,  and  that 
of  Ireland  was  utterly  ruined,  it  became  apparent  to  the  prudent 
British,  that  the  best  use  they  could  make  of  Ireland  would  be 
No  turn  it  into  a  general  store-farm,  for  all  sorts  of  agricultural 
pr^^ce.*     It  is  their  store-farm  to  this  day. 

Those  restrictive  laws  no  longer  exist.    They  have  been  re-»  .. 
^  pealed  from  time  to  time,  merely  because  England  wanted  them 
no  longer.    The  work  was  done  ;  the  British  were  in  possession.       ' 
To  revive  manufactures  in  Ireland,  there  must  have  been  pro- 
-  tective  duties  imposed  on  import  of  manufactured  articles  from 
England  ;    but  there  was  no  free  Irish  Parliament  to  do  this. 
Besides,  the  time  became  so  enlightened  that  the  Spirit  of  the 
Age  was  against  such  duties.     In  other  words,  the  English  could         * 
then  afford  to  cry  out  "Free  Trade!"  "True  principles  of  .ap» 

political  economy !  "  and-so-forth  ;  taking  care  only  to  prevent 
any  interference  by  law  or  otherwise,  with  the  satisfactory  state 
of  things  they  had  established.  To  lose  a  trade  is  easy ;  to 
recover  it,  in  the  face  of  wealthy  rivals  now  in  possession,  im- 
possible. 

When  manufactures  are  crushed,  and  a  peasantry  bound  to  -^ 

the  plough-tail  and  the  cattle-shed,  of  course  the  manufactured         ^? 
'  commodities  they  require  must  come  to  them  from  abroad, 
and  their  raw  agricultural  produce  must  go  in  payment  for 
them. 

Further,  when  the  condition  of  the  peeisantry  is  embittered 
by  subjection  to  an  alien  and  hostile  class  of  landlords,  who 
hold  by  lineage  and  affection  to  another  country,  and  whose 
sole  interest  in  their  tenantry  is  to  draw  from  them  the  very 
uttermost  farthing,  that  they  may  spend  it  in  that  other 
countryf — and  when  that  rental  also,  as  well  as  the  price  of 
manufactures,  must  be  paid  in  raw  produce,  the  arrangement 
is  as  good  as  perfect.  You  can  want  no  more  to  account  for 
the  starved  skeletons  of  Ireland — and  the  comforts  which 
brighten  "  the  happy  homes  of  England." 

So  went  by  the  eighteenth  century  in  Ireland.  One  can 
hardly  believe  that  the  sun  shone  as  he  is  wont  in  those  days. 

*  Anderson,  a  standard  British  writer  of  those  days,  in  his  "  History  of ^»  .•  ' 
Commerce,"  explains  the  matter  thus — "  Concerning  these  laws,  many 
think  them  hurtful ;  and  that  it  would  be  wiser  to  suffer  the  Irish  to  be 
employed  in  breeding  and  fattening  their  black-cattle  for  us,  than  to  turn  their 
lands  into  sheepwalks  as  at  present ;  in  consequence"  of  which,  in  spite  of 
all  their  laws,  they  supply  foreign  nations  vf^ith  their  wool."  By  a  dexterous 
persistence  in  this  line  of  policy  the  evil  was  remedied — the  Irish  ceased 
to  supply  foreign  nations  or  themselves  either  ;  and  they  now  successful!); 
fatten  cattle  and  grow  corn  for  the  sister  country.  •'1''?^' 

t  In  Swift's  days  he  set  down  the  absentee-rents  at  half  a  million  sterling,        ' 
They  are  now  foyir  and  a  half  millions  stprling.  _  ' . 


xxxii  INTRODUCTORY 

So  dreary  and  miserable  is  the  landscape.— a  good  Bishop  Berke- 
ley putting  these  dismal  queries  in  1734 — "  Whether  there  be 
upon  earth  any  Christian  or  civilisdtt  people  so  beggarly,  wretched, 
and  destitute  as  the  common  Irish." — "  Whether,  nevertheless, 
there  is  any  other  people  whcse  wants  may  be  more  easily 
supplied  from  home."*  Or  writing  thus  to  his  friend,  Prior,  in 
Dublin — "  The  distresses  of  the  sick  and  poor  are  endless. 
The  havoc  of  mankind  in  the  counties  of  Cork,  Limerick  and 
some  adjacent  places,  have  been  incredible.  The\  nation, 
probably,  will  not  recover  this  loss  in  a  century.  The  other 
day  I  heard  one  from  the  County  of  Limerick  say  that  whole 
villages  were  entirely  dispeopled.  About  two  months  since,  I 
heard  Sir  Richard  Cox  say  that  five  hundred  were  dead  in  the 
parish,  though  in  a  county,  I  believe  not  very  populous  "  ; — a 
bitter  Dean  Swift,  with  accustomed  ferocity  of  sarcasm,  while 
the  s(eva  indignatio  gnawed  his  heart, f  making  and  publishing 
his  "  Modest  Proposal  "  to  relieve  the  fearful  distress  by  cooking 
and  eating  the  children  of  the  poor.:J 

Yet,  before  the  end  of  that  same  century — such  vitality  is 
there  in  the  Irish  race,  and  the  Irish  cause — Dublin  streets 
beheld  a  wonderful  spectacle — the  Volunteer  Army  in  its  brilliant 
battalions,  and  an  Independent  Parliament  legislating  for  the 
Sovereign  Kingdom  of  Ireland !  Apparently  the  conquest  of 
Ireland  had  not  yet  been  entirely  finished. 

For  eighteen  years,  it  seemed  as  if  the  steady  progress  of  the 
British  system  in  Ireland  was  about  to  be  stopped  or  even 
turned  back.  The  instinct  and  zeal  of  British  "  Amelioration," 
indeed,  was  as  strong  as  ever,  but  80,000  volunteer  bayonets 
stopped  the  way.  British  statesmen  were  as  desirous  as  ever  to 
regulate  in  their  minutest  detail  all  the  trade  and  traffic  of 
Britain's  sister  island — surely  for  her  sister's  good — ^but  on  the 

*  Bishop  Berkeley's  works. — The  Querist. 

t  See  Swift's  Epitaph.^ 

X  After  a  preface,  the  Dean's  "  Modest  Proposal  "  proceeds — "  I  shall 
'  now,  therefore,  humbly  propose  my  own  thoughts,  which  I  hope  will  not 
be  liable  to  the  least  objection.  I  have  been  assured  by  a 'very  knowing 
American  of  my  acquaintance,  that  a  young  healthy  child  well  nursed,  is 
at  a  year  old  a  most  delicious,  nourishing  and  wholesome  food,  whether 
stewed,  roasted,  baked  or  boiled  ;  and  I  make  no  doubt  that  it  will  equally 
-serve  in  a  fricasee  or  a  ragout.  I  do,  therefore,  humbly  offer  it  to  public 
consideration  that  of  the  120,000  children  already  computed,  20,000  may 
be  reserved  for  breed,  whereof  only  one-fourth  part  to  be  males.  The  re- 
maining 100,000  may  at  a  year  old  be  offered  in  sale  to  the  persons  of 
quality  and  fortune  throughout  the  kingdom,"  etc. — Again,  "  I  have 
reckoned,  upon  a  medium,  that  a  child  just  born  will  weigh  12  lbs.,  and 
in  a  solar  year,  if  tolerably  nursed,  will  increase  to  28  lbs.  I  grant  this 
food  will  be  somewhat  dear,  and  therefore  very  proper  for  landlords,  who, 
as  they  have  already  devoured  most  of  the  parents,  seem  to  have  the  best 
title  to  tjie  children." 


X 


o.N  ^fteas;,. 


INTRODUCTORY  xxxiii 

muzzles  of  the  Irish  artillery  was  engraved  the  legend  "  Free 
Trade  or  Else."*  r 

During  those  eighteen  years  of  Irish  independence  then^ 
British  policy  was  suspended.  Honest  John  Bull  all  those  years 
was  losing  a  yearly  income  which  he  felt  to  be  justly  his  due. 
Our  countrymen  began  to  manufacture  again  ;  and  seditiously 
consumed  their  own  com  and  beef.  Revenue  expended  in  public 
improvements  at  home,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  British  services 
— the  metropolis  of  Dublin  beautified  and  enriched,  to  the  heavy 
loss  of  industrious  Londoners — Irish  landlords  keeping  their 
town-houses  in  Ireland  and  spending  their  rents  at  home,  instead 
of  paying  rent  and  wagaii  iu  England  !  The  thing  was  not  to  be 
borne — and  through  '  "'intolerance  of  Irish  prosperity,"  pre- 
parations were  made  to  conquer  Ireland  again  by  the  Act  of 
Union. 

First,  the  Volunteers  were  to  be  disbanded  and  disarmed. 
Without  that,  no  progress  in  civilisation  could  be  made;  nor 
could  the  British  Providence  carry  out  his  wise  designs.  The 
disbanding  was  accomplished  by  pretending  to  grant  fully  (for 
the  time)  all  that  Ireland  demanded.  The  too  credulous  people 
were  taught  that  it  would  look  suspicious  if  they  kept  up  such 
an  armament ;  and  in  an  evil  hour  the  Volunteers  once  more 
committed  the  defence  of  their  island  to  her  sister  country. 

Next,  to  frighten  the  gentry  of  Ireland  into  an  Union,  an 
insurrection  had  to  be  provoked.  The  expedients  by  which  this 
was  effected  are  known  well  enough  ;  but  the  rebellion  of  '98, 
when  it  did  burst  out,  had  nearly  proved  too  strong  for  its 
fomenters  :  and  it  needed  General  Lake  with  twenty  thousand 
disciplined  menrJ  and  complete  batteries  of  field-artillery,  to 
suppress  it  in  the  county  of  Wexford  alone. 

The  noble  owners  6f  nomination  boroughs  were  bribed,  at 
£15,000  per  borough,  to  sell  them  to  the  English  Government. 

The  Catholic  Bishops  were  bribed  by  promises  of  Emancipa- 
tion (which  the  English  delayed  to  fulfil  for  thirty  years),  to  .. 
deUver  over  their  flocks  into  the  hands  of  the  British. 

The  country  was  in  abject  terror  ;  the  Press  was  crushed  by 
prosecutions ;  public  meetings  were  dispersed  by  dragoons. 
The  Irish  Parliament  was  crowded  (through  the  prudent  bar- 
gaining of  the  noble  owners  of  nomination  boroughs)  with 
English  officers — in  short,  the  year  1800  saw  the  Act  o>'  Union. 
At  one  blow,  England  had  her  revenge.  Ireland,  and  all  Irish 
produce  and  industry,  were  placed  totally  in  her  power  ;    and 

*  By  "  Free  Trade,"  Irish  statesmen  meant  freedom  not  from  duties 
but  from  foreign  influence — meant  the  full  power  of  their  own  Parliament 
to  regulate  their  own  trade  by  such  duties,  on  export  or  on  import,  pro- 
tective, discriminating,  or  prohibitory,  as  the  interests  of  Ireland  (not 
England)  might  require. 

d 


xxxiv  INTRODUCTORY 

Ireland  having  but  one  member  in  six  to  what,  they  called  the 
Imperial  Pariiament,  security  was  taken  that  the  arrangement 
should  never  be  disturbed. 

This  time,  once  more,  Ireland  was  fully  conquered — never 
nation  yet  took  so  much  conquering  and  remained  unsubdued. 
For  twenty  years  after  the  Union  the  country  was  as  absolutely 
prostrated  in  means  and  in  spirit  as  she  seems  to  be  now  ;  and 
as  a  matter  of  course  she  had  her  cruel  famine  every  year.  With- 
*out  a  famine  in  Ireland,  England  could  not  live  as  she  had  a 
right  to  expect  ;  and  the  exact  complement  of  a  comfortable 
family  dinner  in  England,  is  a  coroner's  inquest  in  Ireland  : 
verdict.  Starvation.  In  1817  the  famine  was  more  desperate 
than  usual,  and  in  the  best  counties  of  Ireland,  people  fed  on 
weeds.  In  1822  it  was  more  horrible  still.  Sir  John  Newport 
of  WatQrford,  in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Commons,*  described 
one  parish  in  which  fifteen  persons  had  already  died  of  hunger  ; 
twenty-eight  more  were  past  all  hope  of  recovery,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  (still  in  the  same  parish)  ill  of  farriine- 
fever — and  told  of  another  parish  where  the  priest  had  gone 
round  and  administered  extreme  unction  to  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  of  his  parishioners,  all  in  articulo  mortis  by  mere 
starvation.! 

All  these  years  the  Agricultural  produce  of  Ireland  was  in- 
creasing more  and  more,  and  the  English  were  devouring  it. 
Indeed,  so  rapidly  did  this  food-export  (the  only  Irish  commerce) 
grow  and  swell,  that  in  1826,  to  conceal  the  amount  of  it,  the 
English  Parliament  placed  it,  "on  the  footing  of  a  coasting- 
trade  " — that  is  to  say,  no  accounts  were  to  be  kept  of  it.* 

During  the  same  period,  every  Parliament  was  sure  to  enact 
at  least  one  Arms  Bill ;  intending  to  deprive  all  mere  Celts  of 
necessary  weapons  for  defence,  and  to  kill  in  them  the  spirit 
of  men. 

Two  distinct  movements  were  all  this  while  stirring  the  people  ; 

*  Commons  Debates,  June  27,  1822. 

t  Cobbett  in  his  comment  on  that  debate,  makes  these  reflections — 
"  Money,  it  seems,  is  wanted  in  Ireland.  Now  people  do  not  eat  money. 
No,  but  the  money  will  buy  them  something  to  eat.  What !  the  food  is 
there,  then.  Pray  observe  this,  reader.  Pray  observe  this,  and  let  the 
parties  get  out  of  the  concern  if  they  can.  The  Food  is  there  ;  but 
those  that  have  it  in  their  possession  will  not  give  it  without  the  money. 
And  we  know  that  the  food  is  there  ;  for  since  this  famine  has  been  de- 
clared in  Parliament,  thousands  of  quarters  of  com  have  been  imported 
every  week  from  Ireland  to  England." — Register,  July,  1822. 

X  In  the  first  of  these  two  dreadful  famine  years,  181 7,  there  was  exported 
from  Ireland  to  England,  695,600  quarters  of  grain  alone,  besides  vast 
herds  of  cattle.  In  1822  there  was  exported  to  England,  1,063,000  quarters 
of  grain,  besides  cattle.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  price  of  this 
wealth  did  not  come  to  Ireland,  but  stayed  in  England  to  pay  the  rent, 
etc. — which  was  one  of  the  reasons  of  that  phenomenon  noticed  by  Cobbett 
— plenty  of  food  :   and  those  who  raised  it  having  no  money  to  buy  it. 


INTRODUCTORY  xxxv 

one  open  and  noisy — the  Catholic  Relief  Agitation,  the  other 
secret  and  silent — the  Ribbon  and  White-boy  movement.  The 
first  proposed  to  itself  the  admission  of  professional  and  genteel 
Catholics  to  Parliament  and  to  the  honours  of  the  professions, 
all  under  London  Law — the  other,  originating  in  an  utter  horror 
and  defiance  of  London  Law,  contemplated  nothing  less  than 
social,  ultimately  political  revolution.  For  fear  of  the  last. 
Great  Britain  with  a  very  ill  grace  yielded  to  the  first.  Un- 
fortunately for  Ireland,  Catholic  Emancipation  was  carried  in 
1829.  "  Respectable  Catholics  "  were  contented,  and  became 
West  Britons  from  that  day. 

At  the  head  of  that  open  and  legal  agitation,  was  a  man  of 
giant  proportions  in  body  and  in  mind ;  with  no  profound 
learning,  indeed,  even  in  his  own  profession  of  the  law,  but  with 
a  vast  and  varied  knowledge  of  human  nature,  in  all  its  strength, 
and  especially  in  all  its  weakness ;  with  a  voice  like  thimder 
and  earthquake,  yet  musical  and  soft  at  will,  as  the  song  of 
birds  ;  with  a  genius  and  fancy,  tempestuous,  playful,  cloudy, 
fiery,  mournful,  merry,  lofty  and  mean  by  turns,  as  the  mood 
was  on  him — a  humour  broad,  bacchant,  riant,  genial  and  jovial 
— with  profound  and  spontaneous  natural  feeling,  and  super- 
human and  subter-human  passions,  yet  withal,  a  boundless 
fund  of  masterly  affectation  and  consummate  histrionism — 
hating  and  loving  heartily,  outrageous  in  his  merriment,  and 
passionate  in  his  lamentation,  he  had  the  power  to  make  other 
men  hate  or  love,  laugh  or  weep,  at  his  good  pleasure — insomuch 
that  Daniel  O'Connell,  by  virtue  of  being  more  intensely  Irish, 
carrying  to  a  more  extravagant  pitch  all  Irish  strength  and 
passion  and  weakness,  than  other  Irishmen,  led  and  swayed  his 
people  by  a  kind  of  divine,  or  else  diabolic  right. 

He  led  them,  as  I  believe,  all  wrong  for  forty  years.  He  was 
a  lawyer  ;  and  never  could  come  to  the  point  of  denying  and 
defying  all  British  Law.  He  was  a  Catholic,  sincere  and  devout ; 
and  would  not  see  that  the  Church  had  ever  been  the  enemy  of 
Irish  Freedom.  He  was  an  aristocrat,  by  position  and  by  taste  ; 
and  the  name  of  a  Republic  was  odious  to  him.  Moreover,  his 
success  as  a  Catholic  Agitator  ruined  both  him  and  his  country. 
By  mere  agitation,  by  harmless  exhibirion  of  numerical  force,  by 
imposing  demonstrations  (which  are  fatal  nonsense),  and  by 
eternally  half^unsheathing  a  visionary  sword,  wliich  friends  and 
foes  alike  knew  to  be  a  phantom — he  had,  as  he  believed,  coerced 
the  British  Government  to  pass  a  Relief  Bill,  and  admit  Catholics 
to  Parliament  and  some  offices.  ( 

It  is  true  that  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
said  they  brought  in  this  measure,  to  avert  civil  war  ;  but  no 
British  statesman  ever  officially  tells  the  tnith,  or  assigns  to 
any  act  its  real  motive.    Their  refil  motive  was,  to  buy  into  the 


xxxvi       ""  INTRODUCTORY 

British  interests,  the  landed  and  educated  Catholics;  that  so 
the  great  multitudinous  Celtic  enemy  might  be  left  more  abso- 
lutely at  their  mercy. 

For,  beginning  on  the  very  day  of  Catholic  Emancipation, 
there  was  a  more  systematic  and  determined  plan  of  havoc 
upon  the  homes  of  the  poor.  First,  the  "  forty-shilling  freehold  " 
was  abolished.  This  low  franchise  for  counties  had  induced 
landlords  to  subdivide  farms,  and  to  rear  up  population  for  the 
hustings.  The  franchise  at  an  end,  there  was  no  political  use 
for  the  people  ;  and  all  encouragements  and  facilities  were 
furnished  by  the  British  Government  to  get  rid  of  them.  Then 
began  the  "  amelioration "  (for  benevolence  guided  all)  of 
clearing  off  "  surplus  population,"  and  consolidating  the  farms. 
It  needed  too  much  of  the  produce  of  the  island  to  feed  such  a 
mob  of  Celts  ;  and  improved  systems  of  tillage  would  give 
more  com  and  cattle  to  English  markets,  more  money  to  Irish 
landlords. 

The  code  of  cheap  and  easy  Ejectment  was  improved  and  ex- 
tended. All  these  statutes  were  unknown  to  the  common  law 
of  England,  and  have  been  invented  for  the  sole  sake  of  the 
Irish  Celt. 

By  an  Act  of  the  25th  year  of  Gec/rge  the  Third  (1815),  in  all 
cases  of  holdings  where  the  rent  wa  s  under  £20  a  year — that  is, 
in  the  whole  class  of  small  tillageV  arms — power  had  been  given 
to  the  County  Judge  at  sessions,  to  make  a  decree  for  Ejectment 
at  the  cost  of  a  few  shillings.    Two  years  afterwards,  another 
Act  was  passed,  which  stated  th.-it  in  the  proceedings  under  the 
former  statute,  "  doubts  had  ari  sen  "  as  to  the  admissibility,  in 
certain  cases,  of  the  affidavit  <  A  the  landlord  or  hssor,  or  his 
agent,  for  ascertaining  the  am  ount  due,  and  then  proceeded  to 
enact  that  such  affidavits  s'nould  be  held  sufficient.     Under 
these  two  Acts,  many  an  e  state  was  cleared,  many  a  farmer  . 
uprooted  from  his  foothold  '  jn  the  soil,  and  swept  out  upon  the 
highways  :    but  yet  not  fa'  it  enough  ;    so  that  by  another  Act 
of  the  first  year  of  King  C^eorge  IV.,  it  was  declared  that  pro- 
visions of  the  cheap  Eject  ment  Act  "  had  been  found  highly  bene- 
ficial, and  it  was  expedier  it  that  the  same  should  be  extended  "  : 
and,  thereupon,  it  was    enacted  by  the  King's  most  Excellent 
Majesty,  by  and  with  t  he  advice,  and-so-forth,  that  the  power 
of  summary  Ejectment   at  Quarter  Sessions  should  apply  to  all 
holdings  at  less  than   £50  rent ;   and,  by  the  same  statute,  the 
cost  of  procuring  th  ese  Ejectments  was  still  further  reduced. 
In  the-reigns  of  Geor  ge  IV.  and  Victoria,  other  Acts  for  the  same 
purpose  were  mad  i.     So  that  when  the  Famine  and  the  Poor- 
laws  came,  the  e  xpense  of   clearing  a  whole    countryside,  was 
very  trifling  ind  eed. 

To  receive  so'  jjg  gf  the  exterminated.  Poor-houses  were  erected 


■  ^ 


iNTRODtJCTOky  xxxvii 

all  over  the  island,  which  had  the  effect  of  stifling  compunction 
in  the  ejectors.     The  Poor-houses  were  soon  filled. 

Yet  all  these  years,  from  1829  to  1846,  with  all  the  thinning 
and  clearing,  Celts  kept  increasing  and  multiplying.  The  more 
they  multiplied,  the  more  they  starved  ;  for  the  export  of  their 
food  to  England  was  also  increasing  yearly ;  then,  with  the 
greater  demand  for  farms,  rents  rose  and  wages  fell ;  and  when 
at  last  the  first  shadow  of  the  famine  fell  upon  the  island,  nine- 
tenths  of  the  people  were  living  on  the  meanest  and  cheapest 
food,  and  upon  a  minimum  of  that. 

But  all  these  same  years,  loud  and  triumphant  Agitations 
were  going  forward — the  "  Precursor  "  Agitation  ;  the  Repeal 
Agitation — and  the  cheers  of  imposing  demonstrations  rent 
the  air.  Our  poor  people  were  continually  assured  that  they 
were  the  finest  peasantry  in  the  world — "  Alone  among  the 
nations."  They  were  told  that  their  grass  was  greener,  their 
women  fairer,  their  mountains  higher,  their  valleys  lower,  than 
those  of  other  lands — that  their  "  moral  force  "  (alas  !)  had 
conquered  before,  and  would  again — that  next  year  woiild  be 
the  Repeal  year  :  in  fine,  that  Ireland  would  be  the  first  flower 
of  the  earth  and  first  gem  of  the  sea. 

Not  that  the  Irish  are  a  stupid  race,  or  naturally  absurd, 
but  the  magician  bewitched  them  to  their  destruction. 

All  these  years,  too,  a  kind  of  political  war  of  posts  was  waged 
between  O'Connell  and  British  Ministers.  Things  called  "  good 
measures  "  were  obtained  ;  especially  good  men,  friends  and 
dependents  of  O'Connell's  (for  he  was  generous  as  the  day)  got 
offices.  "  Ameliorations  "  were  now  and  then  proposed — and  if 
they  were  humbugs  too  manifest,  O'Connell  in  his  Hall,  turned 
them  inside  out  amidst  laughter  inextinguishable  ;  and  said 
"  A^fl  bac  leis  "  and  "  Thank  you  for  nothing,  says  the  gallipot." 
Collateral  issues  all.  Under  all  this,  the  heart  and  soul  of 
Ireland — whatever  of  intellect  and  manliness  was  left  in  Ireland, 
beat  and  burned  for  independence — and  England  was  skilfully 
laying  her  plans  for  the  final  conquest  of  her  enemy. 

For  not  one  instant  did  the  warfare  cease  upon  farming  Celts. 
In  1843,  "  Government "  issued  a  notable  commission  ;  that  is, 
appointed  a  few  landlords,  with  Lord  Devon  at  their  head,  to 
go  through  Ireland,  collect  evidence,  and  report  on  the  best 
means  (not  of  destroying  the  Irish  enemy — official  documents' 
do  not  now  use  so  harsh  language,  but)  of  ameliorating  the 
relations  of  landlord  and  tenant  in  Ireland.  .  On  this  commission, 
O'Connell  observed  that  it  was  "  a  jury  of  butchers  trying  a 
sheep  for  his  life,"  and  said  many  other  good  things  both  merry 
and  bitter,  as  was  his  wont ;  but  the  Devon  Commission  travelled 
and  reported  ;  and  its  Report  has  been  the  Gospel  of  Irish 
landlords  and  British  Statesmen  ever  since. 


xxxviii  INTkODUCTOkY 

Three  sentences  of  their  performance  will  show  the  drift  of 
it.  Speaking  of  "  Tenant  Right "  (a  kind  of  unwritten  law 
whereby  tenants  in  the  North  were  secure  from  ejectment 
from  their  farms  while  they  paid  their  rent,  a  custom  many  ages 
old,  and  analogous  to  the  customs  of  farmers  all  over  Europe), 
these  Commissioners  reported  "  that  they  foresaw  some  dangers 
to  the  just  rights  of^property  from  the  unlimited  allowance  of 
this  tenant-right."  On  the  propriety  of  consolidating  farms 
(that  is,  destroying  many  small  farmers  to  set  up  one  large 
one),  the  Commissioners  say,  "  When  it  is  seen  in  the  evidence, 
and  in  the  return  of  the  size  of  farms,  how  minute  these 
holdings  are,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  such  a  step  is  absolutely 
necessary." 

But  the  most  remarkable  sentence  occurs  in  Lord  Devon's 
"  Digest  of  the  Evidence,"  page  399  : 

"  We  find  that  there  are  at  present  326,084  occupiers  of  land 
(more  than  one-third  of  the  total  number  returned  in  Ireland), 
whose  holdings  vary  from  seven  acres  to  less  than  one  acre  ; 
and  are,  therefore,  inadequate  to  support  the  families  residing 
upon  them.  In  the  same  table.  No.  95,  page  564,  the  calculation 
is  f>ut  forward,  showing  that  the  consolidation  of  these  small 
holdings  up  to  eight  acres,  would  require  the  removal  of  about 
192,368  families." 

That  is,  the  killing  of  a  million  of  persons.  Little  did  the 
Commissioners  hope  then,  that  in  four  years,  British  policy, 
with  the  famine  to  aid,  would  succeed  in  killing  fully 
two  millions,  and  forcing  nearly  another  million  to  flee  the 
country. 

In  1846  came  the  Famine,  and  the  "  ReUef  Acts  "  advancing 
money  from  the  Treasury,  to  be  repaid  by  local  assessment ; 
and  of  course  there  was  an  aggravated  and  intolerable  Poor- 
rate  to  meet  thiss  claim.  Of  which  Relief  Acts,  only  one  fact 
needs  to  be  recorded  here — that  the  Public  Works  done  under 
them  were  strictly  ordered  to  be  of  an  unproductive  sort — that 
is,  such  as  would  create  no  fund  to  repay  their  own  expenses. 
Accordingly,  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  feeble  and  starving 
men  were  kept  digging  holes,  and  breaking  up  roads — doing  not 
only  no  service,  but  much  harm.  Well,  then,  to  meet  these 
Parliamentary  advances  there  was  nothing  but  rates  :  and,  there- 
fore, there  was  the  higher  premium  to  landlords  on  the  extermin- 
ation, that  is  the  slaughter,  of  their  tenantry.  If  the  clearing 
business  had  been  active  Ijefore,  now  there  was  a  rage  and 
passion  for  it ;  and  as  if  the  Cheap  Ejectment  Acts  were  not  a 
speedy  enough  machinery,  there  was  a  new  Poor-law  enacted, 
containing  amongst  other  clauses,  the  "  Quarter  Acre  clause," 
which  provided  that  if  a  farmer,  having  sold  all  his  produce  to 
pay  the  rent  duties,  rates  and  taxes,  should  be  reduced,  as 


INTRODUCTORY  xxxix 

many  thousands  of  them  were,  to  apply  for  public  out-door 
reUef,  he  should  not  get  it  imtil  he  had  first  delivered  up  all  his 
land  to  the  landlord.  Under  that  law  it  is  the  able-bodied 
idler  only  who  is  to  be  fed — if  he  attempt  to  till  but  one  rood  of 
ground,  he  dies.  This  simple  method  of  ejectment  was  called 
"  passing  paupers  through  the  workhouse  " — a  man  went  in, 
a  pauper  came  out. 

Under  these  various  Poor-laws  and  Relief  Acts,  there  were 
at  least  10,000  government  offices,  small  and  great ;  looking 
and  canvassing  for  these  were  100,000  men  ;   a  great  army  in  .^ 

the  interest  of  England,  , 

At  the  end  of  six  years,  I  can  set  down  these  things  calmly  ; 
but  to  see  them  might  have  driven  a  wise  man  mad.  There  is 
no  need  to  recount  how  the  Assistant  Barristers  and  Sheriffs, 
aided  by  the  Police,  tore  down  the  roof-trees  and  ploughed  up 
the  hearths  of  village  after  village — how  the  Quarter  Acre  clause 
laid  waste  the  parishes,  how  the  farmers  and  their  wives  and 
little  ones  in  wild  dismay,  trooped  along  the  highways — how  in 
some  hamlets  by  the  seaside,  most  of  the  inhabitants  being 
already  dead,  an  adventurous  traveller  would  come  upon  some 
family  eating  a  famished  ass — how  maniac  mothers  stowed 
away  their  dead  children  to  be  devoured  at  midnight — ^how  Mr. 
Darcy  of  Clifden,  describes  a  humane  gentleman  going  to  a 
village  near  that  place  with  some  crackers,  and  standing  at  the 
door  of  a  house  ;  "  and  when  he  threw  the  crackers  to  the 
children  (for  he  was  afraid  to  enter),  the  mother  attempted  to 
take  them  from  them ' ' — ^how  husband  and  wife  fought  like  wolves  , 

for  the  last  morsel  of  food  in  the  house  ;  how  families,  when  all  Ji 

was  eaten  and  no  hope  left,  took  their  last  look  at  the  Sun, 
built  up  their  cottage  doors,  that  none  might  see  them  die  nor 
hear  their  groans,  and  were  foimd  weeks  afterwards,  skeletons 
on  their  own  hearth  ;  how  the  "  law  "  was  vindicated  all  this 
while  ;  how  the  Arms  Bills  were  diligently  put  in  force,  and 
many  examples  were  made  ;  how  starving  wretches  were  trans- 
ported for  stealing  vegetables  by  night  ;*  how  overworked 
coroners  declared  they  would  hold  no  more  inquests  ;  how 
Americans  sent  com,  and  the  very  Turks,  yea,  negro  slaves, 
sent  money  for  alms ;  which  the  British  Government  was  not 
ashamed  to  administer  to  the  "  sister  country  "  ;  and  how,  in 
every  one  of  these  years,  '46,  '47,  and  '48,  Ireland  was  exporting 
to  England,  food  to  the  value  of  fifteen  million  pounds  sterling, 
and  had  on  her  own  soil  at  each  harvest,  good  and  ample 


*  Bantry  Sessions. — Timothy  Leary  and  Mary  Leary  were  indicted  for 
that  they,  on  the  14th  January,  at  Oakmount,  did  feloniously  steal  twenty 
turnips  and  fifty  parsnips,  the  property  of  James  Gillman.  Found  guilty. 
Sentence,  transportation  for  seven  years.  This  is  but  one  of  numerous 
instances. 


--»>.:. 


xl  INTRODUCTORY 

provision  for  double  her  own  population,  not\vithstanding  the 
potato  blight.* 

To  this  condition  had  forty  years  of  "  moral  and  peaceful 
agitation "  brought  Ireland.  The  high  aspirations  after  a 
national  Senate  and  a  national  flag  had  sunk  to  a  mere  craving 
for  food.  And  for  food  Ireland  craved  in  vain.  She  was  to  be 
taught  that  the  Nation  which  parts  with  her  nationhood,  or 
suffers  it  to  be  wrested  or  swindled  from  her,  thereby  loses  all. 
O'Connell  died  heart-broken  in  1847 — heart-broken  not  by  a 
mean  vexation  at  seeing  the  power  departing  from  him  ;  the 
man  was  too  great  for  that ;  but  by  the  sight  of  his  People 
sinking  every  day  into  death  under  their  inevitable,  inexorable 
doom.  His  physicians  ordered  him  to  a  warmer  climate  :  in 
vain  :  amidst  the  reverent  acclamations  of  Paris,  through  the 
sunny  valleys  of  France,  as  he  journeyed  southward,  that 
Banshee  wail  followed  him  and  found  him,  and  rung  in  his  dying 
ear.  At  Genoa  he  died  :  ordering  that  the  heart  should  be 
taken  out  of  his  dead  body,  and  sent,  not  to  Ireland,  but  to 

*  Mr.  Martin  of  Loughorne,  a  competent  and  candid  inquirer,  in  a  pub- 
lished letter  of  October,  1847,  gives  a  variety  of  statistical  tables,  and  draws 
the  conclusion  that  the  total  produce  of  food  in  Ireland  the  year  preceding, 
amounted  to  ;^4i, 000,000  sterling,  and  her  export  to  England,  ^^i 5,000,000  ; 
but  his  estimate  is  very  much  under  the  truth  :  for  in  the  year  1846, 
according  to  Thom's  Almanac,  there  were  1,875,393  quarters  of  grain  alone 
sent  to  England,  besides  countless  cattle,  bacon,  butter,  and  eggs.  The 
trade  in  eggs  had  become  so  vast,  that  Richardson,  in  his  Treatise  on 
Domestic  Fowl  (Dublin,  1847),  calculates  that  export  at  nearly  a  million 
sterling.  But  it  may  give  a  more  vivid  notion  of  the  truth,  if  I  copy  here 
the  casual  notices  of  this  export  trade  which  I  found  in  the  newspapers  of 
one  week  : — In  the  Daily  News  of  October  3rd,  1847,  it  is  stated  that  in  the 
London  market  "  the  receipts  of  oats  chiefly  consist  of  the  new  Irish  crop." 
In  the  Examiner  of  October  4th,  you  may  read  that  there  was  in  one  day 
an  arrival  in  London  of  11,050  quarters  of  Irish  oats.  By  the  Drogheda 
Argus  we  find  that  in  one  week,  ending  Oct.  3rd,  there  were  shipped  from 
Drogheda  1,200  cows,  3,500  sheep  and  swine,  2,000  quarters  of  grain, 
211  tons  of  meal  and  flour,  130  boxes  of  eggs,  besides  butter,  lard,  etc. 
Waterford,  in  the  same  week  {Evening  Post,  Oct.  3rd),  sent  off  250  tons  of 
flour,  1,100  sheep  and  pigs,  308  head  of  cattle,  5,400  barrels  of  wheat  and 
oats,  7,700  firkins  of  butter,  2,000  flitches  of  bacon.  From  Newry,  within 
five  days,  in  the  end  of  September,  there  sailed  eleven  ships  for  England, 
laden  with  grain,  exclusive  of  two  large  steamers,  which  sail  four  times  a 
week,  laden  with  cattle,  eggs,  butter,  etc. 

But  Drogheda,  Waterford,  and  Newry  are  but  three  of  eleven  seaports, 
(Derry,  Coleraine,  Belfast,  Newry,  Dundalk,  Drogheda,  Dublin,  Wexford, 
Waterford,  Cork,  Limerick),  from  each  of  which,  at  least  two  large  steamers 
(from  some  of  them  five  steamers),  went  twice  in  each  week  to  England, 
laden  with  corn  and  cattle.  And  this  without  counting  the  minor  ports, 
and  the  hundreds  of  sailing  vessels  all  laden  with  corn  and  cattle.  In 
short,  during  the  four  "  famine  years,"  Ireland  exported  four  quarters 
of  grain  for  every  quarter  she  imported,  besides  cattle  ;  and  of  the 
grain  imported,  the  greater  part  had  been  exported  before,  and  came 
back  laden  with  two  freights  and  speculators'  profits  to  the  helpless 
consumers. 


INTRODUCTORY  xli 

Rome  ;  a  disposition  which  proves  how  miserably  broken  and 
debilitated  was  that  once  potent  nature.  . 

Politics,  by  this  time,  was  a  chaos  in  Ireland.  "  Conciliation 
Hall  "  was  sending  forth  weekly  an  abject  howl  for  food  !  food  ! 
The  "  Irish  Confederation  "  (of  which  the  present  writer  was  a 
member)  had  no  much  clearer  view  through  the  gloom  ;  though 
it  had  more  energy  and  honesty.  Two  or  three  vain  efforts 
were  made  by  its  leaders  to  put  a  good  man  into  the  representa- 
tion (Meagher  at  Waterford),  or  to  keep  a  bad  man  out  (Mona- 
han  at  Galway) — both  efforts  in  vain.  The  representation  and 
the  franchise  were  too  cunningly  calculated  for  British  interests. 

Every  week  was  deepening  the  desolation  and  despair  through- 
out the  country ;  until  at  last  the  French  Revolution  of  February, 
'48,  burst  upon  Europe.  Ireland,  it  is  true,  did  not  then  possess 
the  physical  resources  or  the  high  spirit  which  had  "  threatened 
the  integrity  of  the  Empire  "  in  '43  ;  but  even  as  she  was, 
depopulated,  starved,  cowed  and  corrupted,  it  seemed  better 
that  she  should  attempt  resistance,  however  heavy  the  odds 
against  success,  than  lie  prostrate  and  moaning  as  she  was. 
Better  that  men  should  perish  by  the  bayonets  of  the  enemy 
than  by  their  laws. 

Clubs  were  formed  expressly  for  arming  ;  rifles  were  eagerly 
purchased ;  and  the  blacksmiths'  forges  poured  forth  pike- 
heads.  Sedition,  treason,  were  openly  preached  and  enforced ; 
and  the  United  Irishman  was  established  specifically  as  an 
Organ  of  Revolution.  The  Viceroy,  Lord  Clarendon,  became 
alarmed  :  he  concenta^lted  eight  thousand  troops  in  Dublin  ; 
he  covered  the  land  with  detectives  ;  and  informers  were  the 
chief  frequenters  of  the  Castle.  Wzdls  were  covered  with 
placards  (printed  by  Thom,  the  Government  Printer),  warning 
peaceable  citizens  that  "  Communists  "  intended  to  rob  their 
houses,  and  murder  their  families  ;  detectives  went  to  unsus- 
pecting blacksmiths  and  mysteriously  ordered  pikes  for  the 
"revolution" — then  brought  the  pikes  to  the  Castle;  and 
thereupon  Lord  Clarendon  had  additional  reasons  to  call  for 
more  regiments  from  England,  to  mount  cannon  upon  the 
Bank  ;  to  garrison  the  College  ;  to  parade  his  artillery  through 
the  streets.  But  this  was  not  enough  :  his  Lordship  wanted 
an  organ  at  the  press-;  for  it  happened  that,  about  that  time, 
all  the  decent  journals  of  the  country  were  pouring  contempt 
upon  him  and  his  government,  except  the  Dublin  Evening  Post, 
which  was  bribed  with  public  money.  It  was  necessary  to 
secure  another  organ.  The  cause  of  "Law  and  Order" — the 
interests  of  civilisation — the  wise  designs  of  a  British  Providence 
required  more  support.  There  was  then  in  Dublin  a  paper  of 
the  most  infamous  character  ;  a  paper  that  subsisted  upon 
hush-money  (the  only  one  of  the  sort  ever  printed  in  Ireland)  ; 


xlii  ^  INTRODUCTORY 

a  paper  that  was  never  quoted,  whose  name  was  never  named 
by  any  Journal  in  the  city.  Its  editor,  an  ilHterate  being  of  the 
name  of  Birch,  had  been  prosecuted  more  than  once,  convicted 
at  least  once,  and  imprisoned  six  months,  for  procuring  money 
from  timid  citizens  by  threats  of  publishing  disgusting  stories 
of  their  private  life.  To  this  man  my  Lord  Clarendon  applied, 
that  he  might  aid  him  with  his  counsel  and  with  his  pen.  With 
him  he  consulted  at  the  Viceregal  Lodge  upon  the  critical  posture 
of  affairs,  and  upon  the  best  mode  of  carrying  out  the  designs  of 
Providence  for  Ireland.  In  order  the  more  effectually  to  do 
this  pious  work,  it  was  needful  that  the  avowed  enemies  of 
that  British  Providence  (of  whom  the  present  writer  had  the 
honour  to  be  one)  should  be  covered  with  obloquy,  and  pointed 
out  to  the  execration  of  mankind  as  abominable ;  but  seeing 
that  reputable  persons  never  saw  the  Viceroy's  new  organ,  it 
became  necessary  to  circulate  it  gratuitously  by  means  of  public 
money.* 

Under  the  advice  of  this  Birch,  who  told  the  Viceroy  that  it 
was  time  for  vigour,  his  Lordship  called  for  a  new  Law  of  Treason. 
Immediately  (April  19th)  a  Bill  was  brought  in  by  Sir  George 
Grey,  and  made  into  an  Act  by  large  majorities,  providing  that 
any  one  who  should  levy  war  against  the  Queen,  or  endeavour  to 
deprive  her  of  her  title,  or  by  open  and  advised  speaking,  printing, 
or  publishing,  incite  others  to  the  same,  should  be  "  deemed 
guilty  of  felony  "  and  transported. 

*  All  this  might  have  remained  a  secret,  but  that  Lord  Clarendon's 
friend.  Birch,  was  obliged,  three  years  afterwards,  to  sue  his  Lordship,  and 
again  Sir  William  Somerville,  the  Irish  Secretary,  for  the  balance  due  to 
him  on  account  of  Law  and  Order.  The  action  against  Lord  Clarendon 
was  compromised  by  payment  of  ;^2,ooo  ;  that  against  Somerville  was 
resisted  and 'tried.  Thus  it  came  out  how  his  Excellency  had  sent  for 
Birch  to  his  residence  ;  and,  how  Birch  had  been  closeted  with  him  often. 
Plaintiff's  counsel  stated  the  nature  of  his  services  thus  : — "  I  may  say  this, 
that  he  gave  his  Excellency  the  full  benefit  of  his  counsel,  of  his  knowledge, 
of  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  parties,  with  newspapers,  with  factions, 
and  with  public  men.  I  am  instructed  that  he  even  went  the  length  of 
stating  when  the  Government  might  be  vigorous,  and  when  it  would  be 
prudent  to  be  cautious." 

Lord  Clarendon  in  his  evidence,  says  it  was  in  Feb.,  '48,  that  he  entered 
into  communication  with  Birch  : — "  I  then  offered  him  ;^ioo,  if  I  remember 
rightly,  for  it  did  not  make  any  great  impression  on  me  at  the  time.  He 
said  that  it  would  not  be  sufficient  for  his  purpose,  and  I  think  it  was  then 
extended  to  about  ;^35o.  This  was  in  the  beginning  of  February,  1848,  if 
I  remember  correctly.  Did  your  Excellency  know  that  any  further  sums 
of  money  were  paid  to  Mr.  Birch  in  London  ? — Yes.  Is  your  Excellency 
aware  from  what  fundv.it  came  ? — From  a  fund  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
Sir  William  Somerville  at  my  request.  Out  of  the  public  funds,  was  it  ? 
— I  could  not  say  it  came  out  of  the  public  funds.  I  said  it  was  a  fund 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  Sir  W.  Somerville,  at  my  request." 

Secret  service  money,  in  short.  Lord  Clarendon's  private  secretary,  a 
Mr.  Connellan,  was  usually  the  instructor  of  Birch.  It  is  unfortunate  that 
all  the  letters  have  not  come  to  light ;    for  on  payment  of  the  ^£2,000  to 


INTRODUCTORY  xliii 

This  act  was  passed  with  a  special  view  to  crush  the  United 
Irishman,  and  to  destroy  its  Editor.  If  the  offence  had  been 
left  a  misdemeanour  as  theretofore,  the  "  government "  knew 
that  the  United  Irishman  could  not  be  put  down,  because  there 
would  have  been  no  forfeiture  in  case  of  conviction  ;  and  they 
were  all  well  aware  that  competent  men  would  not  be  wanting 
to  give  a  voice  to  treason,  even  though  editor  after  editor  should 
be  chained  up. 

In  the  meantime  the  case  grew  pressing.  All  the  country  was 
fast  becoming  aroused  ;   and  many  thousands  of  pikes  were  in  , 

the  hands  of  the  peasantry.  The  soldier!  of  several  regiments, 
being  Irish,  were  well  known  to  be  very  willing  to  fraternise 
with  the  people,  upon  a  first  success  and  the  police,  in  such  an 
event,  would  have  been  a  green-coated  Irish  army  upon  the 
moment. 

Birch  and  Clarendon  would  not  even  wait  to  get  their  enemy 
fairly  into  the  new  felony.  They  caused  three  to  be  arrested 
in  the  meantime  (O'Brien,  Meagher,  and  the  present  writer), 
on  a  charge  of  sedition  ;  but  on  bringing  the  two  former  to  trial, 
it  was  found  that  the  juries  (special  juries  in  the  Court  of  Queen's 
Bench)  had  not  been  closely  enough  packed  ;  and  the  prose- 
cutions failed.  In  my  case,  though  there  were  two  indictments, 
one  for  a  speech,  and  one  for  an  article,  and  two  juries  had 
actually  been  struck,  "  Government  "  felt  that  a  failure  would 
be  at  least  dangerous  ;    so  the  Viceroy  suddenly  caused  my 

settle  Birch's  claim,  his  Lordship  took  care,  as  he  thought,  to  get  up  all 
the  papers.  Birch  prudently  kept  back  a  few,  amongst  which  I  find  this 
note  : — 

"V.  R.  L.  (Viceregal  Lodge),  March,  1848.  Dear  Sir — The  French 
news  ought  to  turn  to  account  the  triumph  of  the  moderate  party,  the 
defeat  and  certain  ejection  of  Ledru  Rolf  in,  the  Irish  fratemiser,  and  the 
vigorous  proceedings  of  th2  provisional  government  in  making  arrests. 
I  presume  that  to-morrow's  (Friday)  mail  will  bring  us  an  account  of  the 
capture  of  Blanqui  and  Cabet,  the  great  Communist  leader,  etc.  The 
moral  of  this  might  be  well  applied  to  Mitchel  and  Co." 

For  of  course  it  was  one  main  point  in  his  lordship's  policy  to  make 
people  believe  that  the  enemies  of  English  government  were  "  Com- 
munists," and  that  Communists  were  robbers.  Birch  was  recommended 
also  by  Lord  Clarendon  to  Lord  Palmerston  ;  and  was  duly  paid  by  that 
nobleman  for  supporting  his  policy.  Here  are  two  little  notes  which  were 
read  on  the  Somerville  trial : — "  Sir — Viscount  Palmerston  desires  me  to 
express  to  you  his  best  thanks  for  your  obliging  letter  of  the  9th  inst., 
and  your  able  articles  in  the  World  newspaper.  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient 
servant,   Spencer   Ponsonby."     June   15,    1851,   Mr.   Ponsonby  says — 

Viscount  Palmerston  desires  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  ^  ^ 

to-day's  date,  and  to  request  you  to  call  upon  me  at  this  office  on  Monday 
or  Tuesday,  at  a  quarter  before  5  o'clock." 

Such  was  one  of  the  agencies  made  use  of  by  Divine  Providence  for 
preserving  British  civilisation  in  Ireland.  I  never  saw  Lord  Clarendon's 
friend  Birch  ;  but  am  informed  that  he  earned  much  of  his  money  by 
weekly  attacks  upon  me.  *.„ 


xliv  INTRODUCTORY 

Arrest  on  a  charge  o£  "  treason-felony "  under  his  new  Act, 
and  determined  to,  ncn  try,  but  pretend  to  try  me,  at  the  next 
Commission  in  Greqn  Street — at  anyrate  to  clear  Ireland  of  me 
and  so  get  rid  of  one  obstacle  at  least  to  the  fulfilment  of  British 
policy. 

Here,  then,  this  narrative  leaves  the  general  affairs  of  the 
country  and  shrinks  to  the  dimensions  of  a  single  prosecution. 
From  the  day  that  I  entered  my  dungeon  (the  23rd  of  May, 
1848),  I  know  but  by  hearsay  how  the  British  Government 
fulfilled  the  designs  and  administered  the  dispensations  of 
Providence  in  Ireland^how  the  Famine  was  successfully  ex- 
ploited ;  how  the  Poor-rates  doubled  and  trebled,  and  were 
diligently  laid  out  in  useless  works ;  how  the  Orange  Lodges  were 
supplied  with  arms  from  the  Castle  ;  how  the  mere  Celtic  peas- 
antry were  carefully  deprived  of  all  weapons  ;  how  the  land- 
lords were  gradually  broken  and  impoverished  by  the  pressure 
of  rates,  imtil  the  beneficent  "  Encumbered  Estates  Bill "  had 
to  come  in  and  solve  their  difficulties — a  great  stroke  of  British 
policy,  whereby  it  was  hoped  (now  that  the  tenantry  were 
cleared  to  the  proper  point)  to  clear  out  the  landlords,  too, 
and  replace  them  with  English  and  Scottish  purchasers.  In 
short,  how  the  last  conquest  was  consummated,  let  other  pens 
than  mine  describe. 

The  United  Irishman  was  at  that  time  admitted  to  be  making 
progress  in  stimulating  the  just  disaffection  of  the  people  to  the 
point  of  insurrection.  The  first  and  most  earnest  efforts,  there- 
fore, of  the  enemy's  Government  were  now  to  be  exerted  for  its 
destruction.  And  now  came  the  momentous  question  of  the 
jury.  The  Ministry  of  England  happened  to  be  a  Whig  Ministry  ; 
and  one  of  the  artifices  by  which  the  Whigs  had  gained  their 
reputation  for  "  liberality "  was  hypocritically  censuring  the 
Tories  for  packing  juries — that  is,  carefully  selecting  their  own 
friends  apparently  to  try,  but  really  to  destroy  a  political  enemy. 
I  provoked  them  to  this  prosecution  with  the  idea  that  if  they 
did  not  pack,  and  were  beaten  on  the  trial  (in  a  case  of  so  open 
and  flagrant  "  treason  "),  the  prestige  and  the  real  power  of  the 
British  rule  in  Ireland  would  be  wounded  seriously,  perhaps 
mortally — but  that  if  they  broke  through  all  Whig  maxims,  and 
obtained  their  conviction  by  the  usual  villainous  means  of 
excluding  five-sixths  of  the  people  from  serving  on  juries,  the 
atrocity  would  still  more  exasperate  the  furious  disaffection, 
and  ripen  the  Revolution.  In  all  this  I  under-estimated,  on 
the  one  hand,  the  vigour  and  zeal  of  the  British  Government  in 
carrying  out  the  designs  of  Providence,  and  on  the  other,  the 
much-enduring  patience  and  perseverance  of  the  Irish  Catholics. 

The  day  of  trial  approached  ;  and  it  became  well  known  in 
Dublin,  that  Lord  Clarendon  was  resolved.  Whig  or  no  Whig, 


INTRODUCTORY  xlv 

to  pack  at  least  this  one  jury  most  jealously.  The  juries  to 
try  O'Brien  and  Meagher  had  been  selected,  indeed,  with  consider- 
able care  ;  yet  on  each  of  those  juries  there  had  been  left  at 
least  one  friend  of  the  national  cause — a  f)iece  of  official  negli- 
gence which  ended  in  the  defeat  of  those  prosecutions ;  and  it 
was,  therefore,  clear  that  it  must  not  be  repeated.  Just  before 
my  pretended  "  trial,"  however.  Ministers  were  taken  to  task 
about  the  instructions  which  had  been  sent  to  Ireland  for  the 
conduct  of  the  State  prosecutions  ;  and  returns  were  moved 
for.  Lord  John  Russell  replied,  in  a  most  virtuous  speech, 
that  nothing  could  be  further  from  the  intention  of  the  Govern- 
ment 'than  excluding  Catholics  as  such,  from  the  jury-box, 
using  "  unfairness,"  or  turning  the  administration  of  justice  into 
a  matter  of  politics.*  The  report  of  that  virtuous  speech 
arrived  in  Dublin  on  the  very  day  when  the  Crown  prosecutors 
and  Attorney  General  were  packing  the  jury,  to  convict  me,  as 
never  jury  was  packed  before — excluding  all  Catholics,  as  such 
— excluding  all  Protestants  who  were  not  known  to  be  my  enemies 
— openly  "  using  unfairness,"  and  using  the  false  pretence  of 
law  and  justice  to  crush  a  political  enemy.  There  was  not,  of 
course,  a  single  Catholic  left  upon  this  pretended  jury ;  nor  a 
single  Protestant  who  was  not  well  known  to  be  for  the  Castle, 
and  against  the  People.  *^  * 

Two  or  three  days  after  my  pretended  trial — as  I  find  in  the 
papers — the  same  Lord  John  Russell,  being  questioned  again 
by  Mr.  Keogh  on  the  explusion  of  Catholics  on  all  the  three 
trials,  declared  that  in  the  case  of^Mr.  O'Brien  and  Mr. 
Meagher,  jurors  had  not  been  set  aside  for  political  or  religious 
opinions ;    but,  said  his  Lordship,  "  /  have  no  explanation  to 

*  This  is  Lord  John  Russell's  virtuous  speech — it  was  on  the  23rd  of 
May  : — 

"  I  certainly  did  not  expect  that  there  would  arise  any  charge  against 
us  of  partiality  on  the  ground  of  exclusion  of  Roman  Catholics.  I  enter- 
tain exactly  the  same  opinions  I  held  in  1844,  that  the  exclusion  of  Roman 
Catholics,  as  such,  unless  they  were  members  of  the  Repeal  Association, 
or  were  distinguished  by  the  violence  of  their  conduct  in  those  Associations 
— the  exclusion  of  Roman  Catholics,  as  such,  is  an  extremely  wrong  and 
unjustifiable  proceeding.  I  therefore  did  not  expect  that  a  charge  of  this 
nature  would  be  made  ;  but,  however,  notwithstanding  that,  I  did  write 
when  I  first  received  from  my  noble  friend,  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  an  intima- 
tion that  it  was  the  determination  of  the  Government  to  prosecute  those 
several  persons  for  sedition — I  wrote  to  him  immediately,  to  say  that  I 
trusted  there  would  not  arise  any  charge  of  any  kind  of  unfairness  as  to 
the  composition  of  the  juries  ;  as  for  my  own  part,  I  would  rather  see  those 
parties  acquitted,  than  that  there  should  be  any  such  unfairness.  (Cheers) 
I  repeat,  that  whatever  example  there  Inay  be  given  by  others,  of  dis- 
regarding the  obligations  of  right,  and  makirg  the  part  they  have  to  per- 
form in  the  administration  of  justice  a  matter  of  politics,  and  not  of  duty, 
the  Government  will  be  the  last  persons  to  allow  any  example  of  that  kind 
to  operate  upon  them  " 


xlvi  INTRODUCTORY 

offer  with  respect   to    what    has  taken   place  on   the   trial  of 
Mr.  Mitchel." 

In  short,  the  cause  of  "  civilisation  "  and  of  British  Law  and 
Order,  required  that  I  should  be  removed  to  a  great  distance 
from  Ireland,  and  that  my  office  and  printing  materials  should 
become  the  property  of  Her  Majesty.  Though  the  noble  old 
Robert  Holmes,  who  advocated  the  prisoner's  cause  that  day, 
had  had  the  tongue  of  men  and  of  angels,  he  could  have  made 
no  impression  there.  A  verdict  of  "  Guilty,"  and  a  sentence  of 
fourteen  years'  transportation  had  been  ordered  by  the  Castle  : 
and  it  was  done. 

The  Clubs  of  Dublin,  as  I  was  credibly  informed,  were  vehem- 
ently excited  ;  and  the  great  majority  of  them  were  of  opinion 
that  if  an  insurrection  were  to  be  made  at  all,  it  should  be 
tried  then  and  there — that  is,  in  Dublin  streets,  and  on  the  day  of 
my  removal.  There  is  no  reason  why  I  should  not  avow  that 
I  shared  in  that  opinion,  and  refused  to  sign  a  paper  that  was 
brought  to  me  in  Newgate,  deprecating  all  attempt  at  rescue. 
I  believed  that  if  the  City  of  Dublin  permitted  any  Irishman 
to  be  put  on  board  a  convict-ship  under  such  circumstances, 
the  British  Government  could  have  little  to  fear  from  their 
resentment  or  their  patriotism  afterwards.  Others  of  my 
Confederate  comrades  differed  from  me  ;  restrained  the  Clubs  ; 
promised  action  in  the  harvest  (a  promise  which  they  after- 
wards fulfilled  to  the  best  of  their  ability)  ;  bade  me  farewell 
mournfully  enough  ;  and  in  due  course  of  time,  some  of  them 
followed  me  on  my  circumnavigation  of  the  globe. 

Their  decision  was  wrong ;  and,  as  I  firmly  believe,  fatal. 
But  that  their  motives  were  pure,  and  their  courage  unquestion- 
able, I  am  bound  to  admit. 

So  much  I  have  thought  fit  to  narrate  by  way  of  Introduction 
to  the  diary  which  I  kept  in  my  cell.  The  general  history  of  a 
nation  may  fitly  preface  the  personal  memoranda  of  a  solitary 
captive  ;  for  it  was  strictly  and  logically  a  consequence  of  the 
dreary  story  here  epitomised,  that  I  came  to  be  a  prisoner,  and 
to  sit  writing  and  musing  so  many  months  in  a  lonely  cell. 
"  The  history  of  Ireland,"  said  Meagher  to  his  unjust  judges  at 
Clonmel,  "  explains  my  crime  and  justifies  it."  No  man  proudly 
mounts  the  scaffold,  or  coolly  faces  a  felon's  death,  or  walks  with 
his  head  high  and  defiance  on  his  tongue  into  the  cell  of  a  convict- 
hulk,  for  nothing.  No  man,  let  him  be  as  "  young  "  and  as 
"  vain  "  as  you  will,  can  do  this  in  the  wantonness  of  youth  or 
the  intoxication  of  vanity. 

My  preface,  then,  will  explain,  at  least  to  some  readers,  what 
was  that  motive,  spirit  and  passion  which  impelled  a  few  Irish- 
men to  brave  such  risks,  and  incur  so  dreadful  penalties  for  the 
sake  of  but  one  chance  of  rousing  their  oppressed  and  degraded 


INTRODUCTORY  xlvii 

countr5nTien   to   an   effort   of  manful  resistance   against   their 
cruel  and  cunning  enemy. 

It  will  further  help  to  explain  the  contumacy  and  inveterately 
rebellious  spirit  evident  enough  in  the  pages  of  the  "  Journal "  ; 
and,  moreover,  will  suggest  some  of  those  considerations  which 
lead  the  present  writer  to  differ  from  the  vast  majority  of  man- 
kind, and  to  assert  that  his  native  country  has  not  been,  even 
this  time,  finally  subdued  ;  that  this  earth  was  not  created  to 
be  civilised,  ameliorated  and  devoured  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  ; 
that  Defeat  is  not  necessarily  Wrong  ;  that  the  British  Provi- 
dence is  not  Divine  ;  and  that  his  dispensations  are  not  to  be 
submitted  to  as  the  inscrutable  decrees  of  God. 


■» 


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JAIL    JOURNAL 


CHAPTER   I 

^  "  ■ ' 

May  27,  1848, — On  this  day,  about  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, I,  John  Mitchel,  was  kidnapped,  and  carried  off  from 
DubUn,  in  chains,  as  a  convicted  "  Febn." 

I  had  been  in  Newgate  prison  for  a  fortnight.  An  apparent 
trial  had  been  enacted  before  twelve  of  the  castle  jurors  in 
ordinary — much  legal  palaver,  and  a  "  conviction  "  (as  if  there 
were  law,  order,  government,  or  justice  in  Ireland).  Sentence  had 
been  pronounced,  with  much  gravity,  by  that  ancient  Purple 
Brunswicker,  Baron  Lefroy — fourteen  years'  transportation  ;  and  . 
I  had  returned  to  my  cell  and  taken  leave  of  my  wife  and  two 
poor  boys.  A  few  minutes  after  they  had  left  me  a  gaoler  came 
in  with  a  suit  of  coarse  grey  clothes  in  his  hand.  "  You  are  to 
put  on  these,"  said  he,  "  directly."  I  put  them  on  directly.  A 
voice  then  shouted  from  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  "  Let  him  be  re- 
moved in  his  own  clothes  "  ;  so  I  was  ordered  to  change  again, 
which  I  did.  I  asked  to  what  place  I  was  to  be  removed.  "  Can't  *^ 
tell,"  said  the  man.  "  Make  haste."  There  was  a  traveUing  bag 
of  mine  in  the  cell,  containing  a  change  of  clothes  ;  and  I  asked 
whether  I  might  take  it  with  me.  "  No  ;  make  haste."  "  I  am 
ready,  then  "  ;  and  I  followed  him  down  the  stairs.  I 

When  we  came  into  the  small  paved  court,  some  constables  and 
gaolers  were  standing  there.  One  of  them  had  in  his  hand  a  pair 
of  iron  fetters  ;  and  they  all  appeared  in  a  hurry,  as  if  they  had 
some  very  critical  neck-or.-nothing  business  in  hand ;  but  they 
might  as  well  have  taken  their  time  and  done  the  business  with 
their  usual  unconcerned  and  sullen  dignity  of  demeanour. 

I  was  ordered  to  put  my  foot  upon  a  stone  seat  that  was  by 
the  wall ;  and  a  constablfe  fastened  one  of  the  bolts  upon  my  ankle. 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


J 


But  the  other  people  hurried  him  so  much  that  he  said  quickly, 
"  Here,  take  the  other  in  your  hand,  and  come  along."  I  took  it, 
and  held  up  the  chain  which  connected  the  two,  to  keep  it  from 
dragging  along  the<^pavement,  as  I  followed  through  the  hall  of 
the  prison  (where  a  good  many  persons  had  gathered  to  see  the 
vindication  of  the  "  law  ")  and  so  on  to  the  outer  door.  I  stood 
on  the  steps  for  one  moment,  and  gazed  round  :  the  black  poUce- 
omnibus — a  strong  force  of  the  city  constabulary  occupying  the 
street  on  either  side  ;  outside  of  them  dark  crowds  of  people, 
standing  in  perfect  silence  ;  parties  of  cavalry  drawn  up  at  the 
openings  of  the  streets  hard  by.  I  walked  down  the  steps  ;  and 
amidst  all  that  multitude  the  clanking  of  my  chain  was  the 
loudest  sound.  The  moment  I  stepped  into  the  carriage  the  door 
was  dashed  to  with  a  bang.  Someone  shouted,  "  To  the  North 
Wall!  "  and  instantly  the  horses  set  forward  at  a  gallop.  The 
dragoons,  with  drawn  sabres,  closed  both  in  front  and  rear  and  on 
both  sides  ;  and  in  this  style  we  dashed  along,  but  not  by  the 
shortest,  or  the  usual  way  to  the  North  Wall,  as  I  could  see  through 
a  slit  in  the  panel.  The  carriage  was  full  of  police-constables. 
Two  of  them,  in  plain  clothes,  seemed  to  have  special  charge  of 
me,  as  they  sat  close  by  me,  on  right  and  left,  one  of  them  holding 
a  pistol  with  a  cap  on  the  nipple.  After  a  long  and  furious  drive 
along  the  North  Circular  road,  I  could  perceive  that  we  were 
coming  near  the  river.  The  machine  suddenly  stopped,  and  I 
was  ushered  to  the  quay-wall  between  two  ranks  of  carbineers, 
with  naked  swords.  A  Government  steamer,  the  Shearwater,  lay 
in  the  river,  with  steam  up,  and  a  large  man-of-war's  boat,  filled 
with  men  armed  to  the  teeth,  was  alongside  the  wall.  I  de- 
scended the  ladder  with  some  difficulty,  owing  to  the  chain,  took 
my  seat  beside  a  naval  officer,  who  sat  in  the  stem,  and  a  dozen 
pulls  brought  us  to  the  steamer's  side.  A  good  many  people  who 
stood  on  the  quay  and  in  two  or  three  vessels  close  by,  looked 
on  in  silence.  One  man  bade  God  bless  me  ;  a  pohce-inspector 
roared  out  to  him  that  he  had  better  make  no  disturbance. 

As  soon  as  we  came  on  board,  the  naval  officer  who  had  brought 
me  off,  a  short,  dark  man  of  five-and-forty  or  thereabouts,  con- 
ducted me  to  the  cabin,  ordered  my  fetters  to  be  removed,  called 
for  sherry  and  water  to  be  placed  before  us,  and  began  to  talk. 
He  told  me  I  was  to  be  brought  to  Spike  Island,  a  convict  prison 


■PWfwwppwp^ws'f^iW'iwwK'T'''''^?"'''^^'^^^^^ 


fAIL  JOURNAL  3 

in  Cork  Harbour,  in  the  first  place ;  that  he  himself,t<however, 
was  only  going  as  far  as  Kingstown,  where  his  own  ship  lay  ;  that 
he  was  Captain  Hall,  of  the  Dragon  steam-frigate  ;  and  that  he 
dared  to  say  I  had  heard  of  the  unfortunate  Nemesis.  "  Then," 
quoth  I,  "  you  are  the  Captain  Hall  who  was  in  China  lately,  and 
wrote  a  book."  He  said  he  was,  and  seemed  quite  pleased.  If 
he  had  a  copy  of  his  work  there,  he  said  he  should  be  most  happy 
to  present  it  to  me.  Then  he  appeared  apprehensive  that  I  might 
confound  him  with  Captain  Basil  Hall.  So  he  told  me  that  he 
was  not  Basil  Hall,  wEo  in  fact  was  dead  ;  but  that  though  not 
actually  Basil  Hall,  he  had  sailed  with  Basil  Hall,  as  a  youngster, 
on  board  the  Lyra.  "  I  presume,"  he  said,  "  you  have  read  his 
voyage  to  the  Loo  Choo  Islands."  I  saidX-had,  and  also  another 
book  of  his  which  I  liked  far  better  :  his  "  Accoimt  of  the  Chilian 
and  Peruvian  Revolutions,"  and  of  that  splendid  fellow,  San 
Martin.  Captain  Hall  laughed.  "  Your  mind,"  said  he,  "  has 
been  running  upon  revolutions."  "  Yes,  very  much — almost  ex- 
clusively." "Ah,  sir!"  quoth  he,  "dangerous  things,  these 
revolutions."  Whereto  I  repUed,  "  You  may  say  that."  We 
were  now  near  Kingstown  Pier,  and  my  friend,  looking  at  his 
watch,  said  he  should  still  in  be  in  time  for  dinner  ;  'that  he  was 
to  dine  with  the  Lord  Lieutenant ;  that  he  had  been  at  a  review 
in  the  Park  this  morning,  and  was  suddenly  ordered  off  to  escort 
me  with  a  boat's  crew  from  the  Dragon  ;  further,  that  he  was 
sorry  to  have  to  perform  such  a  service  ;  and  that  he  had  been 
credibly  informed  my  father  was  a  very  good  man.  I  answered 
I  know  not  what.  He  invited  me  to  go  with  him  upon  deck, 
where  his  crew  were  preparing  to  man  the  boat ;  they  were  all 
dressed  like  seamen,  but  well  armed.  I  pointed  to  them,  and 
asked,  "  Are  those  fellows  marines  ?  "  He  looked  at  me  with  a 
pecuhar  smile — "  Well,  come  now,  they  ate  marines."  He  was 
evidently  amazed  at  my  penetration  in  detecting  marines  with- 
out their  uniform  (I  had  asked  the  question  in  mere  ignorance 
and  absence  of  mind)  ;  "  but,"  he  quickly  added,  "  our  marines 
are  all  seamen."     "  I  suppose  so,"  quoth  I. 

Captain  Hall,  of  the  Dragon,  now  bade  me  good  evening,  sajdng 
he  should  just  have  time  to  dress  for  dinner.  I  wished  him  a 
good  appetite,  and  he  went  off  to  his  ship.  No  doubt  he  thought 
me  an  amazingly  cool  character ;  but  God  knoweth  the  heart. 


4  JAIL  JOURNAL 

There  was  a  huge  lump  in  my  throat  all  the  time  of  this  bald 
chat,  and  my  thoughts  were  far  enough  away  from  both  Peru 
and  Loo  Choo.  At  Charlemont  Bridge,  in  Dublin,  this  evening, 
there  is  a  desolate  house — my  mother  and  sisters,  who  came  up, 
to  town  to  see  me  (for  the  last  time  in  case  of  the  worst) — ^five 
Uttle  children,  very  dear  to  me  ;  none  of  them  old  enough  to 
understand  the  criiel  blow  that  has  fallen  on  them  this  day,  and 
above  all — above  all — my  wife.* 

What  will  they  do  ?  What  is  ta  become  of  them  ?  By  this 
time,  undoubtedly,  my  office,  my  newspaper,  t5^es,  books,  all 
that  I  had,  are  seized  on  by  the  Government  burglar.  And  then 
they  will  have  to  accept  that  public  "  tribute '' — the  thought  of 
which  I  abhor.  And  did  I  not  know  this  ?  And,  knowing  it, 
did  I  not  run  all  the  risk  ?  Yes  ;  and  I  did  well.  The  possible 
sacrifice  indeed  was  terrible  ;  but  the  enterprise  was  great,  and 
was  needful.  And,  moreover,  that  sacrifice  shall  not  have  been 
made  in  vain.  And  I  know  that  my  wife  and  Uttle  ones  shall  not 
want.  He  that  feedeth  the  young  ravens — ^but  then,  indeed,  as 
I  remember,  young  ravens  and  other  carrion-birds  have  been 
better  fed  in  Ireland  than  the  Christians,  these  latter  years. 

After  alii  for  what  has  this  sacrifice  been  made  ?  Why  was  it 
needful  ?  What  did  I  hope  to  gain  by  this  struggle  with  the 
enemy's  "  Government,"  if  successful  ?  What,  if  unsuccessful  ? 
What  liave  I  gained  ?  Questions  truly  which  it  behoves  me  to  ask 
and  answer  on  this  evening  of  my  last  day  (it  may  be)  of  civil 
existence.  Dublin  City,  with  its  bay  and  pleasant  villas — city  of 
bellowing  slaves — villas  of  genteel  dastards — lies  now  behind  us, 
and  the  sun  has  set  behind  the  blue  peaks  of  Wicklow,  as  we  steam 
past  Bray  Head,  wh/re  the  Vale  of  Shanganagh,  sloping  softly 
from  the  Golden  Spears,  sends  its  bright  river  murmuring  to  the 
sea.  And  I  am  on  the  first  stage  of  my  way,  faring  to  what 
regions  of  unknown  horror  ?  And  may  never,  never — never 
more,  O,  Ireland  ! — my  mother  and  queen  ! — see  vale,  or  hill,  or 
murmuring  stream  of  thine.    And  why  ?     What  is  gained  ? 

Let  me  set  it  down  : — 

First,  then,  I  have  compelled  the  enlightened  "  Government " 
— the  Whig  Government — after  repeated  warnings,  challenges, 

•  Mitchel's  Dublin  residence  in  1848  was  No.  8  Ontario  Terrace, 
Charlemont  Bridge,  Rathmines. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  5 

taunts  (so  that  everybody  should  know  what  I  was  about),  com- 
pelled them  publicly  and  notoriously  to  pack  a  jury,  most  strictly, 
in  order  to  crush  one  man  ;  and  thus  compelled  them  to  prove 
that  there  is  no  "  constitution  "  in  Ireland  at  all ;  that  the 
"  Government "  is  not  under,  but  above  the  Law  ;  that  trial  by 
jury  is  a  fraud  ;  and  that  all  Whig  professions  about  conciliatory 
and  impartial  government  in  Ireland,  were  as  false  as  the  Father 
of  Whiggery  himself.  .^ 

i^*  They  dared  not  have  given  me  a  fair  trial  before  my 
'     countrymen.     If  I  had  beaten  them  on  that  trial,  it  would 
have  been  a  victory  which  I  could  have  followed  up  to  their 
utter  smash.    I  would  soon  have  shown  all  Ireland  the  way 
— not  to  drive  a  coach-and-six  through,  but  to  ride  rough- 
shod over  their  laws  and  them. 
Second. — By  demonstrating  that  there  is  no  law  or  Constitu- 
tion for  us,  I  have  put  an  end,  one  may  hope,  to  "  constitutional 
agitation,"  and  shamed  the  country  out  of  "  moral  force  "  (in 
the  O'Connellite  sense).    So,  that  delusion  being  put  out  of  the 
way,  there  is  a  chance  of  my  countrymen  seeing,  what  is  a  solemn 
truth,  that,  for  Ireland's  "  grievances,"  her  famines,  her  party 
spirit,  her  packed  juries,  her  exterminations,  there  is  but  one 
and  all-sufficient  remedy,  the  edge  of  the  sword. 
^^  As  God  is  above  me,  this  is  true.    On  the  truth  of  it  I 
have  staked  body  and  soul,  and  will  abide  the  issue.    Those 
who  consider  that  all  through  O'Connell's  forty  years  of 
"  agitation,"  the  people  had  been  industriously  taught  by 
him  and  the  priests  to  keep  the  peace,  and  abhor  bloodshed, 
and  also  to  "  keep  within  the  law  "  (thus  falsely  and  fatally 
acknowledging  the  existence  of  government,  and  the  vahdity 
of  London  law)  will  understand  the  difficulty  of  making  any 
way  in  respect  of  this  matter,  and  also  the  need  there  was 
to  enforce  the  true  doctrine  openly,  and  so  to  break  the 
canting  spell. 
Third. — I  have  shown  the  CathoHcs  of  Ireland  that  they  aie 
not  yet  emancipated,  for  all  their  Clare-elections  ;  that  they  are 
deliberately,  ostentatiously  debarred  from  executing  the  common 
civic  office  of  jurors  in  giny  case  of  pubUc  concernment — that  is 
to  say,  that  they  are  not  citizens  in  their  own  land — that  is  to 
say,  that  they  are  slaves— iox  there  is  no  middle  term.    They  are 


) 


6  JAIL  JOURNAL 

ruled  now,  as  ever,  by  the  sword  ;  if  they  go  on  quietly  obeying 
this  kind  of  rule,  let  them  obey,  and  be  hanged! 
1^^  I  do  not  know  what  they  will  do  upon  being  made  to  learn 
this  lesson.  I  only  know  what  they  ought  to  do.  All 
Catholic  judges,  assistant-barristers,  magistrates,  and  other 
functionaries,  ought  to  resign  their  employments ;  all 
•  Cathohc  policemen  ought  to  strip  off  their  ignominious 
livery ;  all  Catholic  soldiers  ought  to  desert — in  one  word, 
what  the  CathoUcs  ought  to  do  is  to  tear  up  society  from  its 
roots,  but  they  will  be  citizens  in  their  own  land.  What 
they  will  do,  for  the  present,  is  the  reverse  of  all  this.  Some 
of  the  respectable  Castle-Catholics  will  thank  me  httle  for 
bringing  their  degradation  so  prominently  into  pubUc  view ; 
they  think  they  are  emancipated  enough,  and  will  curse  me 
by  their  gods,  if  they  have  any.  Heaven!  where  is  the 
great  heart  of  chief  and  tanist  ?  How  has  the  rich  blood 
of  O'Conor  and  O'Donnell  Roe  grown  pale!  Is  this,  the 
stateliest  family  of  the  Caucasian  race,  indeed,  starved  and 
kicked  into  incurable  Helotism  ? 

But  young  CathoUcs  are  growing  up — even,  I  trust,  in  the 
Castle-going  rank  of  life — who  will  shame  their  fathers,  and 
do  honour  to  their  ancestors.. 
Fourth. — I  have  made  sure — for  the  thing  is  not  going  to  stop 
here — that  the  breach  between  the  Irish  people  and  the  Cartha- 
ginian government  will  be  made  henceforth  wider  and  deeper 
than  ever — that  disaffection  will  grow  and  thrive — that  Nice, 
Queen  of  Carthage,  will  not  steer  her  yacht  to  Ireland  this  summer 
of  1848,  as  she  graciously  intended* — that  Ireland  will  become 
ungovernable  to  all  Carthaginian  governments  ;  and,  finally,  that 
the  struggle  will  become  a  repubUcan  one  in  the  long  run.f 

Now,  if  I  have  indeed  done,  or  helped  to  do,  or  materially 
furthered  and  provided  for  the  doing  of  these  things — and  if  my 

•  But  the  next  year  Her  Gracious  Majesty  did  carry  her  beneficent  inten- 
tion into  e£fect,  and  the  debased  'nation  set  its  neck  under  her  feet  in  a 
paroxysm  of  fictitious  "  loyalty,"  It  is  painful  to  relate,  but  it  is  the  dis- 
graceful fact. — J.M. 

t  All  these  reflections,  inferences,  and  predictions,  I  give  exactly  as  I 
wrote  them  down  at  the  time.  I  stand  to  them  all ;  though  I  know  that 
many  will  say  subsequent  events  have  belied  them.  We  shall  yet  see 
whether  those  subsequent  events  will  not  have  events  subsequent  to  them 
also,  and  belying  them ;  the  remotion  of  the  negative  is  the  position  of 
the  affirmative. — J.Mv 


,  JAIL  JOURNAL  7 

zeal  in  this  matter  has  not  been  born  of  greediness,  or  ambition, 
or  vain-glory,  shall  I  not  say  that  I  have  done  well  ?  Shall  I  not 
go  on  my  dark  voyage  with  a  stout  heart— aye,  and  wear  my 
fetters  Ughtly,  as  garlands  of  flowers  ?  I  may  not  know,  indeed, 
how  the  great  game  goes ;  newspapers  will  probably  be  wholly 
out  of  my  reach.  The  cause  may  prosper  soon  and  suddenly 
beyond  ^  my  hope — or  may  be  shipwrecked  by  fools,  or  sold  by 
traitors,  for  a  time.  I,  myself  (but  that  is  no  great  matter),  may 
be  named  patriot  and  martyr — Heaven  help  me  ! — or,  contrari- 
wise, may  be  "  sung  and  proverbed  for  a  fool  in  every  street "  ; 
or,  indeed,  clean  lost  sight  of  within  a  month.  And  I,  in  some 
far  latitude,  perhaps  under  the  Southern  Constellations,  will  be 
unconsciously  doing  my  daily  convict-work.  What  would  I  not 
give,  six  months  hence,  for  a  bulletin  from  Reilly  or  Martin,  to 
tell  me  how  it  goes ! 

I  am  not  afraid  of  either  cowardice  or  treachery  on  the  part  of 
our  chiefest  men.  Meagher  is  eloquent  and  ardent — ^brave  to  act ; 
brave,  if  need  be,  to  suffer.  I  would  that  he  took  the  trouble  to 
think  for  himself.  O'Brien  is  bold  and  high-minded,  but  caprici- 
ous, unaccountable,  intractable ;  also,  he  is  an  aristocrat  bom 
and  bred,  and,  being  a  genuine  Irishman  himself,  he  cannot  be 
brought  to  see  that  his  fellow-aristocrats  are  not  Irish,  but  the 
irreconcilable  enemies  of  Ireland.  Then  who  will  dare  to  write 
or  publish  one  word  of  bold  truth  ?  The  Freeman  will  be  tame 
and  legal  till  the  evil  days  are  overpast.  The  Nalion  will  be  so 
busy  giving  "  the  party"  a  properly  Girondesque  character,  and 
discriminating  carefully  between  the  wild  Montagnards — to  wit, 
me  and  the  like  of  me — on  the  one  hand,  and  the  truly  respectable 
Lafayette-Lamartinists,  on  the  other,  that  he  will  be  of  little  use 
in  dealing  with  the  substantial  Irish  affair  that  lies  before  him. 
Dillon — 0'Gk)rman — ^good  and  brave  men,  but  not  sufficiently 
desperate.  My  chief  trust  is  in  Martin  and  R6illy  ;  but  then  they 
will  probably  be  the  very  first  devoured  by  the  Carthaginian  sea- 
monster.  God  be  with  them  all  and  direct  them  ;  and,  above 
all,  put  some  heart  into  the  poor  people ! 

It  darkened  over  the  sea,  and  the  stars  came  out ;  and  the  dark 
hills  of  Wicklow  had  shrouded  themselves  in  the  night-fog  before 
I  moved  from  the  shoreward  gunwale  of  the  quarter-deck.  My 
two  guardians,  the  police-constables  in  plain  clothes,  who  had 


8  JAIL  JOURNAL  ' 

never  left  my  side,  now  told  me  it  was  growing  late,  and  that  tea 
was  ready  below.  Went  down,  accordingly,  and  had  an  "  aesthe- 
tic tea"  with  two  detectives.  Asked  my  two  friends  if  they 
knew  my  destination.  They  knew  nothing,  they  said ;  but 
thought  it  probable  I  would  not  be  removed  from  Spike  Island  ; 
supposed  that  Government  would  just  keep  me  there  "  till 
matters  were  a  Uttle  quieted  doSvn,"  and  then  let  me  go.  Well, 
I  think  differently,  my  plain-coated,  plain-witted  friends.  On 
Ireland,  or  an5rwhere  near  it,  assuredly  I  will  not  be  allowed  to 
live.  But  where  then  ?  The  Carthaginians  have  convict 
colonies  everywhere  :  at  Gibraltar,  at  Bermuda,  in  the  Atlantic  ; 
at  Norfolk  Island,  in  the  Pacific ;  besides  Van  Diemen's  Land, 
and  the  various  settlements  in  New  South  Wales  ;  for  on  British 
felony  the  sun  never  sets.  To  any  one  of  these  I  may  find  my- 
self steering  within  the  twenty-four  hours.  But  be  my  prison 
where  it  will,  I  suppose  there  is  a  heaven  above  that  place. 

There  is  a  good  berth  provided  for  me  here,  and  I  am  as 
sleepy  as  a  tired  ploughman.  Good  night,  then,  Ireland,  and 
Irish  tumults,  strugglings  and  vociferations,  quackery,  puffery, 
and  endless  talk !  Good  night,  friends  and  enemies.  And  good 
night,  my  sweet  wife  and  widow  ! — yet  we  shall  meet  again. 

28th. — Sunday  morning.  A  bright  morning,  but  no  land  in 
sight.  Found  the  United  Irishman  of  yesterday  in  my  cabin. 
The  sixteenth  and  last  number.  Read  all  the  articles.  Good 
Martin!  Brave  Reilly!  but  you  will  be  swallowed,  my  fine 
fellows.     "  Government  "  has  adopted  the  vigorous  poUcy. 

Was  invited  to  breakfast  with  the  Ueutenants  and  surgeon. 
All  very  poUte  to  me.  One  of  them,  whom  I  take  to  be  the  second 
lieutenant,  is  a  fine  young  fellow,  who  has  lately  returned  from 
the  Pacific,  after  cruising  there  seven  years,  and  is  as  brown  as 
Queen  Pomare.  He  is  an  Irishman,  but  far  more  familiar  with  the 
poUtics  of  Taiti  and  Hawaii,  than  with  Irish  affairs.  About  ten 
o'clock  the  land-fog  rose,  and  far  to  the  northward  I  could  recog- 
nise the  coast  about  Youghal,  the  opening  of  the  Blackwater,  and 
beyond  these,  faint  and  blue,  the  summits  of  Knockmeldown. 
We  had  kept  a  wide  berth  from  the  land  all  night,  but  were  now 
making  straight  f^r  Cork  harbour.  Soon  it  opened  ;  within  half- 
an  hom:  more  we  came  to  anchor  opposite  Cove,  and  within  five 
hundred  yards  of  Spike  Island — a  rueful  looking  place,  where  I 


■V 


p.. 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


could  discern,  crowning  the  hill,  the  long  walls  of  the  prison,  and 

a  battery  commanding  the  harbour.   A  boat  was  instantly  lowered 

and  manned.    My  friends  in  plain  clothes  told  me  thay  would 

"  take  it  on  their  own  responsibiUty "   (poUcemen  have  high 

responsibilities  in  Ireland)  not  to  put  me  in  irons  as  I  went  ashore. 

The  Commander  and  first  lieutenant  buckled  on  their  swords,  and 

took  their  seats  in  the;^stem  of  the  boat  beside  me.    We  were 

rowed  rapidly  to  the  island,  and  as  we  walked  up  the  approach  , 

we  met  an  elderly,  grave-looking  gentleman,  who  said,  "  Mr. 

Mitchel,  I  presume  !  "     How  on  earth,  thought  I,  did  you  know 

already  that   I   was  coming  to   you  ? — forgetting  that   Lord 

Clarendon,  before  I  was  "  tried,"  made  sure  of  my  conviction. 

However,  I  bowed,  and  then  he  turned  and  escorted  us  to  his  den, 

over  a  drawbridge,  past  several  sentries,  through  several  gratings, 

and  at  last  into  a  small  square  court.    At  one  side  of  this  court  a 

door  opened  into  a  large  vaulted  room,  furnished  with  a  bed,  table, 

chair,  and  basin-stand,  and  I  was  told  that  I  was  in  my  cell.    The 

two  naval  officers  took  their  leave  politely,  saying  they  hoped  to 

meet  me  under  happier  circumstances ;  and  they  seemed  really 

sorry.    I  bowed  and  thanked  them  ;   and  I  was  left  alone.     I 

found  I  had  the  range  of  the  cell  and  the  court  before  it,  no 

prisoner  being  there  but  myself.    Mr.  Grace,- the  Governor,  came 

in  to  tell  me  I  might  write  home  if  I  chose,  submitting  the  letter 

to  him.     I  did  write,  telling  where  I  was,  and  desiring  a  trimk  to 

be  sent  to  me  with  some  clothes  and  a  few  books.    Mr.  Grace  also 

offered  to  lend  me  books  while  I  should  stay.     A  turnkey,  or 

guard  in  blue  uniform,  kept  sauntering  up  and  down  the  court, 

and  sometimes  lounged  into  the  room.    Asked  him  what  he 

wanted.    He  told  me  he  was  not  to  leave  me  until  lock-up  hour 

— thought  this  a  great  grievance,  and  wished  for  lock-up  hour. 

It  came  at  last :  my  door  was  shut,  and  for  the  first  time  I  was 

quite  ahane. 

And  now — as  this  is  to  be  a  faithful  record  of  whatsoever 
befalls  me — I  do  confess,  and  will  write  down  the  confession,  that 
I  flung  myself  on  the  bed,  and  broke  into  a  raging  passion  of  tears 
— tears  bitter  and  salt — tears  of  wrath,  pity,  regret,  remorse — ^but 
not  of  base  lamentation  for  my  own  fate.  The  thoughts  and 
feelings  that  have  so  shaken  me  for  this  once,  lan^6age  was  never  * 

made  to  describe  j  but  if  any  austere  censor  could  find  it  in  his  f 


10  JAIL  JOURNAL 

heart  to  vilipend  my  manhood  therefor,  I  would  advise  him  to 
wait  vmtil  he  finds  himself  in  a  somewhat  similar  position. 
BeUeve  me,  O  Stoic  !  if  your  soul  were  in  my  soul's  stead,  I  also 
could  heap  up  words  against  you,  and  shake  mine  head  at 
you. 

It  is  over,  and  finally  over.  In  half-an-hour  I  rose,  bathed  my 
head  in  water,  and  walked  a  while  up  and  down  my  room. 
I  know  that  all  weakness  is  past,  and  that  I  am  ready  for  my 
fourteen  years'  ordeal,  and  for  whatsoever  the  same  may  bring 
me — toil,  sickness,  ignomiriy,  death.    Fate,  thou  art  defied. 

2(^h. — In  this  court  nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  the  high  walls 
and  the  blue  sky.  And  beyond  these  walls  I  know  is  the  beauti- 
ful bay  lying  in  the  bosom  of  its  soft  green  hills.  If  they  keep  me 
here  for  many  years  I  will  forget  what  the  fair,  outer 
world  is  like.  Gazing  on  grey  stones,  my  eyes  will  grow 
stony. 

After  breakfast  to-day  Mr.  Grace  came  into  my  cell  with  a 
turnkey.  He  had  a  suit  of  brown  convict-clothes  in  his  hand, 
and  said  it  was  an  unpleasant  duty  he  had  to  perform,  but  that 
I  must  put  on  those  clothes.  I  obeyed  without  remark,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  after  this  a  fat,  red  man  came  in  to  look  at  me. 
This  was  the  governor  of  Smithfield  Prison  in  Dublin,  who  is 
about  to  return  home,  and  who  desires  To  be  enabled  to  attest  at 
headquarters  that  he  had  seen  me  in  convict  costume.  To  me 
the  whole  affair  is  totally  indifferent. 

Drew  my  chair  to  the  door,  sat  down  in  the  sun,  and  spent  an 
hour  or  two  in  reading  the  "  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor."  Thank 
God  for  Shakespeare  at  any  rate.  Baron  Lefroy  cannot  sentence 
Shakespear^  to  death,  nor  so  much  as  mulct  him  for  damages, 
though  I  am  told  he  deserves  it  for  defamation  of  character,  in  the 
case  of  Sir  John  Falstaff.  The  real  Falstaff,  or  Fastolf,  I  am 
assured,  was  a  very  grave  and  valiant  knight,  and  built  himself 
the  great  castle  of  Caistor  to  dwell  in  ;  never  drank  sack  in 
Eastcheap,  nor  made  love  in  Windsor  ;  was  neither  poor,  fat,  nor 
witty,  Uke  our  Sir  John,  but  was,  in  fact^  as  hke  to  other  good 
knights  of  the  period  as  one  shotten  herring  is  like  another  shotten 
herring.  Well ;  suppose  all  this  to  be  what  you  call  "  true," 
which,  then,  is  the  more  real  and  substantial  man  ?  I  hold  that 
our  Sir  John  is  the  authentic  Sir  John,  and  that  your  Fastolf  was 


^  JAIL  JOURNAL  ii 

an  impostor.  Why,  I  have  seen  the  man,  and  laughed  with  him 
a  hundred  times  :  for  though  he  is  fat  and  groweth  old,  and  his 
hair  is  grey,  yet  the  fine  old  fellow  will  never  die — in  truth,  he 
was  bom  with  a  grey  head  and  something  of  a  round  belly.  And 
so  he  can  take  his  sack  still,  witty  himself,  and  the  cause  of  wit 
in  others  even  to  this  day.  Oh !  I  have  much  to  say  in  the 
behalf  of  that  Falstaff . 

While  I  sat  in  the  sun,  a  large  and  important-looking  gentle- 
man came  into  the  yard,  who  is,  I  understand,  "  Inspector  "  :  four 
or  five  well-dressed  young  gentlemen  were  with  him.  They  passed 
into  my  room,  made  a  few  muttered  remarks  to  one  another,  and 
went  out  again,  looking  ver^  sharply  at  me  as  they  passed.  I 
gazed  at  them  abstractedly,  as  if  I  were  looking  through  them, 
and  thinking  of  something  else.  They  came,  I  believe,  only  to 
see  me.  «  Veiy  well :   I  wish  them  much  comfort. 

30/A. — My  turnkey,  who  is  desired  never  to  leave  me,  I  find  to 
be  a  good,  quiet  sort  of  creature.  He  is  some  kind  of  Dissenter, 
hums  psalm-tunes  almost  under  his  breath,  and  usually  stays  as 
far  away  from  me  as  our  boimds  will  allow  him.  There  is  a  door 
in  the  high  wall  leading  into  another  inclosure,  and  as  I  was 
taking  a  turn  through  my  territory  to-day,  the  turnkey  was  near 
that  door,  and  he  said  to  me  in  a  low  voice — "  This  way,  sir,  if 
you  please  "  ;  he  held  the  door  open,  I  passed  through,  and 
immediately  a  tall,  gentleman-Uke  person,  in  black  but  rather 
over-worn  clothes,  came  up  to  me  and  grasped  both  my  hands 
with  svery  demonstration  of  reverence.  I  knew  his  face,  but 
could  not  at  first  remember  who  he  was  ;  he  was  Edward  Wal^, 
author  of  "  Mo  Chraoibhin  Chno,"  and  other  sweet  songs,  and  of 
some  very  musical  translations  from  old  Irish  ballads.  Tears 
stood  in  his  eyes  as  he  told  me  he  had  contrived  to  get  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  and  shaking  hands^with  me  before  I  should  leave 
Ireland.  I  asked  him  what  he  was  doing  at  Spike  Island,  and  he 
told  me  he  had  accepted  the  office  of  teadier  to  a  school  they 
keep  here  for  small  convicts — a  very  wretched  office,  ijadeed,  and  ^ 

to  a  shy,  sensitive  creature,  hke  Walsh,  it  must  be  dally  torture. 
He  stooped  down  and  kissed  my  hands.  "  Ah !  "  he  said,  "  you 
are  now  the  man  in  all  Ireland  most  io  be  envied."  1  answered 
that  I  thought  there  might  be  room  for  difference  of  opinion 
about  that ;   and  then,  after  another  kind  word  or  two,  being 


^ 


12  JAIL  JOXJR 

warned  by  my  turnkey,  I  bade  mm  farewell,  and  retreated  into 
my  own  den.  Poor  Walsh  !  He  Ras  a  family  of  young  children  ; 
he  seems  broken  in  health  and  spirits.  Ruin  has  been  on  his 
traces  for  years,  and  I  think  has  him  in  the  wind  at  last.  There 
are  more  contented  galley-slaves  moiling  at  Spike  than  the 
schoolmaster.  Perhaps  this  man  does  really  envy  me  ;  and  most 
assuredly  I  do  not  envy  him. 

31st. — ^The  important  Inspector  came  to  me  to-day,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Grace.  He  asked  me  if  I  had  any  complaint  to 
make  to  him  ?  "  None  whatever,"  I  answered.  He  hesitated  a 
moment,  and  then  said,  "  It  has  become  my  duty  to  inform  you 
that  Government  have  determined  on  sending  you  out  of  the 
country."  "  Indeed !  •  How  soon  ?  "  "  To-morrow  morning." 
"  May  I  ask  to  what  part  of  the  world  ?  "  "  Bermuda."  "  And 
by  what  conveyance  ?  "  "A  man-of-war,  which  has  arrived 
to-day  in  the  harbour."  "  Very  good,"  quoth  I,  and  they  left 
me.  Presently  Mr.  Grace  returned,  said  he  was  glad  to  tell  me 
matters  did  not  promise  to  go  so  hard  with  me  as  he  had  expected 
— that  he  had  a  letter  from  the  Castle,  directing  him  to  treat  me 
quite  differently  from  "  a  common  convict,"  to  let  me  wear  my 
own  clothes,  not  to  put  me  in  irons,  etc.  Further,  that  he  had 
been  already  on  board  the  ship  which  was  to  carry  me  to  Bgrmuda 
— the  Scourge,  a  large  war  steamer  ;  that  he  had  seen  the  instruc- 
tions which  had  been  delivered  to  the  commander  before  he  left 
Portsmouth,  and  which  bore  that  I  was  to  be  treated  on  the 
passage  "  as  a  person  of  education  and  a  gentleman " 
— so  it  ran ;  and  to  have  accommodations  thereunto  cor- 
respondent. 

A  person  of  education  and  a  gentleman !  And  if  such  a  person 
has  indeed  committed  a  felony,  is  he  not  just  all  the  more  feloni- 
ous ?  If  a  person  of  education  commit  the  real  crime  of  endea- 
vouring to  subvert  social  order,  to  break  down  the  sanction  of 
law,  and  to  destroy  the  Government  imder  which  he  lives  (sup- 
posing order,  law,  and  government  to  exist),  how  does  his  educa- 
tion entitle  him  to  indulgence  above  other  felons  ?  But  possibly 
you  begin  to  see.  Gaff ei*  John  Bull,  that  I  am  no  felon  at  all,  and 
have  committed  no  crime  at  all,  notwithstanding  your  new  "  Act 
of  ParUament,"  in  that  case  made  and  provided  ;  and  you  think 
it  impolitic,  or  else  you  are  ashamed,  to  proceed  to  the  utter- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  13 

most  rigour  with  me.  Cowardly  John !  You  ought  either  not  to 
take  up  the  vigorous  poUcy  at  all,  or  else  to  carry  it  through 
with  a  high  hand.  This  is  child's  play.  Positively  I  am  either  a 
felon  or  no  felon  ;  that  is  to  say,  either  I  am  a  felon,  or  you, 
John,  are  a  felon. 

Mr.  Grace  excuses  himself  for  putting  me  into  convict  dress^ — 
says  he  had  no  instructions  to  the  contrary  at  first,  and  did  not 
know  how  they  might  feel  towards  me  at  the  Castle ;  and  so  he 
was  afraid  to  refuse  when  the  Smithfield  gaoler  required  to  see  me 
in  felon  array,  that  he  might  report  it  in  DubUn.  Curious  that 
this  should  have  happened  twice.  In  DubUn  also  I  had  to  put 
•on  the  convict  dress  and  strip  it  off  again  instantly.  Come,  my 
Lord  Clarendon,  either  I  am  a  felon  or  not  a  felon. 

But  perhaps  they  do  this  to  vex  and  hurt  me,  not  knowing 
how  callous  I  am. 

Wrote  this  evening  to  my  wife,  a  cheerful  letter,  teUing  her 
everything  that  is  pleasant  in  my  situation,  and  how  I  am  to  be  a 
gentleman,  at  least  while  on  board  the  Scourge.  But  I  fear  now 
that  her  expected  letter  will  not  arrive  before  I  sail,  and  then  I 
may  not  hear  for  months  anything  that  has  befallen  since  I  took 
leave  of  her  in  Newgate  :  what  seizures  have  been  made  by  the 
police  ;  what  she  is  going  to  do  with  the  house  in  Dubhn  ;  where 
she  means  to  live  ;  how  my  children  are.  My  wardrobe,  too,  is 
somewhat  scanty,  for  a  "  gentleman,"  seeing  that  they  brought  me 
away  from  Newgate  in  an  old  brown  summer  coat,  old  shoes,  and 
a  glazed  cap  ;  and  the  trunk  I  wrote  for  cannot  come  in  time.  Mr. 
Grace,  however,  has  kindly  taken  the  trouble  of  procuring  for  me 
■  at  Cove  a  few  changes  of  linen  and  other  small  indispensables. 
The  surgeon  of  the  establishment,  a  young  man  from  the  county 
Monaghan,  came  to  request  some  autographs  from  me.  It  seems 
the  women  in  Cove  importuned  him  ;  so  I  indulged  him ,  with 
half-a-dozen,  and  wish  the  sweet  girls  much  joy  with  them. 

Speaking  of  this  surgeon,  I  must  not  forget  to  record  that  the 
first  time  he  saw  me  he  made  most  minute  inquiries  about  my 
health  ;  and  when  I  told  him  I  was  in  perfect  health,  and  never 
had  been  better  in  all  my  Ufe,  he  remarked  that  I  looked  rather 
delicate — perhaps  I  had  been  subject  occasionally  to  some  com- 
plaint ?  Told  him  I  had — to  asthma,  now  and  then  ;  but  was  at 
present  quite  free  from  it.    He  said  that  would  do.    "  Dowhat  ?  " 


14  JAIL  JOURNAL 

I  asked.  Whereupon  he  told  me  that  it  might  be  necessary,  in 
order  to  justify  Mr,  Grace  in  not  setting  me  to  work,  to  have  a 
certificate  from  him  that  my  health  was  rather  delicate.  All  this 
passed  on  Monday  last,  and  before  Mr.  Grace  had  received  orders 
from  the  Castle  not  to  use  me  as  a  convict. 

I  set  down  all  these  trifling  particulars  relating  to  my  usage 
here  because  I  foresee  the  worthy  "  Government "  will  have 
occasion  to  tell  official  falsehoods  on  the  subject  befoie  all  is 
over ;  otherwise,  they  are  of  no  importance  to  me  at  all. 

At  five  o'clock  to-morrow  morning  a  boat  is  to  come  ashore 
for  me. 

June  1st. — It  was  on  a  raw,  damp  morning  that  I  took  my  last 
look  of  Irish  land.  The  first  lieutenant  of  the  Scourge,  in  full 
costume,  with  cocked  hat  and  sword,  came  for  me  with  a  boat  full 
of  marines.  The  Scourge  lay  about  a  mile  distant — a  long,  Ibw 
rakish-looking  steamer,  with  black  hull  and  two  funnels.  In  a 
few  minutes  I  stepped  on  deck,  and  was  presented  to  the  captain, 
who  was  walking  on  the  quarter-deck.  He  lifted  his  cap,  and 
asked  me  to  go  below,  and  he  would  show  me  my  quarter.  The 
principal  cabin  is  very  handsome,  divided  into  two  rooms,  of  which 
the  one  farthest  aft  is  to  be  occupied  by  me  as  a  sleeping-cabin* 
It  has  couches,  chairs,  and  a  table,  and  is  lighted  by  all  the  stem 
windows.  During  the  day  both  rooms  are  to  be  open  to  me  ;  and 
the  captain  said,  that  as  he  is  obliged  to  consider  me  as  a  prisoner, 
there  will  be  a  marine  always  stationed  ons^ntry  at  the  foot  of  the 
companion-ladder  ;  and  that  whenever  I  desire  to  go  upon  deck, 
which  I  may  do  when  I  please,  I  am  to  inform  the  sentry,  who  will 
summon  a  sergeant — that  for  the  rest,  he  hoped  his  hours  would 
suit  me,  when  breakfast,  dinner,  and  so  forth,  will  be  served  in  the 
chief  cabin.  He  is  a  quiet,  saturnine,  biHous,  thin  man  of  about 
fifty,  with  a  very  low  voice — not  at  all  a  bluff  seamzin,  or  a  jolly 
.tar,  or  the  like  ;  yet  I  dare  say  he  is  an  excellent  officer,  and  will 
execute  his  orders. 

Mr.  Grace  had  promised  to  go  to  Cove  and  inquire  for  my  letter  ; 
and  the  vessel  lay  for  an  hour,  waiting  his  return.  He  came  and 
brougfit  a  letter.  I  snatched  it  eagerly,  and  found  in  it  a  small 
religious  tract,  which  an  unknown  lady  had  sent  me.  No  letter 
from  home.  Ten  minutes  after  this  we  were  steaming  southward, 
at  ten  knots  an  hour.    So  my  moorings  are  cut. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  ij} 

It  rained  dismally.    The  wind  sung  ruefully  in  shrouds  and    ,. 
rigging  ;  and  huge  grey  rain-clouds  darkened  over  shore  and  sea. 
We  were  out  of  sight  of  land  almost  as  soon  as  the  ship  had 
cleared  the  headlands  of  the  bay.     I  waved  my  hand  north-east- 
by-north,  then  went  below,  and  ate  a  tremendous  breakfast. 

So  my  moorings  are  cut.  I  am  a  banished  man.  And  this 
is  no  mere  relegatio,  Uke  Ovid's,  at  Tomi ;  it  is  utter  exsilium — 
interdiction  of  fire  and  water  ;  the  loss  of  citizenship,  if  citizen- 
ship I  had ;  the*brand  of  whatsoever  ignominy  law  can  inflict,  if 
law  there  be.  Be  it  so  ;  %  am  content.  There  are  no  citizens  in 
Ireland  *  there  is  no  citizenship — no  law.  I  cannot  lose  what  I 
never  had  ;  for  no  Irishman  has  any  rights  at  present.  As  for  the 
disgrace  of  "  felony,"  that  sits  very  easy  upon  me.  To  make  me  a 
felon  needs  an  act  of  my  own.  No  "  Act  of  ParUament  "  can  do- 
it !  and  what  ignominy  London  "  law  "  can  stain  an  Irishman 
withal,  I  am  content  to  underlie  till  my  dying  hour.  Be  that 
disgrace  on  my  head  and  on  the  heads  of  my  children. 

But  for  the  thought  of  those  children  and  their  mother,  and 
what  temporary  inconveniences  they  may  suffer  before  arrange- 
ments can  be  made  for  their  leavin^Txeljind — but  for  that  I 
should  absolutely  feel  jolly  to-day.  There  is  something  inde- 
pendent in  setting  forth  on  a  voyage  of  three  thousand  miles, 
with  an  old  brown  coat  on  my  back,  and  a  few  shillings  in  my 
tricolor  purse.  The  onus  is  not  upon  me.  You  Sovereign  Lady,  • 
Queen  Nice,  have  charge  of  me  now  ;  look  you  take  good  care  of 
me.  I  am  in  your  majesty's  hands  at  last ;  but  you  may  find, 
O  Queen !  that  I  am  too  dear  at  the  price  you  have  paid,  and  are 
like  to  pay.  I  will  cost  you,  most  dread  sovereign,  rather  more 
than  my  rations.  '  z 

It  has  come  on  to  blow  hard  this  evening.  Dined  on  four 
teaspoonfuls  of  arrowroot. 

2nd. — Blowing  still  worse.     Hoped  fervently  for  a  thorough- 
going storm.    When  one  is  at  sea,  one  may  as  well  have  trial  of 
all  the  sea  can  do.    Steward  came  into  my  cabin  ;  asked  him  if  it 
was  a,  storm.     "  No,  sir  ;  only  half  a  gale  of  wind."     I  cursed  its      / 
haljhess,  and  tried  to  sleep. 

^d. — Ship  still  pitching ^nd  rolling  heavily;  part  of  the 
bulwark,  the  steward  told  us,  is  stove  in — still  no  storm.  Went 
on  deck.    Storm  or  no  storm,  this  Atlantic  rears  grand,  mountain- 


i6  JAIL  JOURNAL       x 

ous  waves.  Porpoises  tumbling — Storm-Petrel  skimming.  This 
bird  is  the  Mother  Carey's  Chicken  or  procellaria — but  I  scorn  it. 
All  these  things,  are  they  not  written  in  the  journal  of  any  young 
lady  sailing  to  India  for  a  husband — or  missionary,  or  "  literary  " 
(that  is,  book-spinning)  naval  officer,  spinning  as  he  goes,  for  a 
manufacturer  in  Paternoster  Row  ? 

Went  over  the  Scourge,  and  surveyed  her  fore  and  aft.  She 
is  a  fine  ship.  A  long  unbroken  flush  deck  ;  one  huge  mortar, 
containing  five  tons  of  metal,  close  behind  the  mainmast — one 
"  long  gun  "  pointed  over  the  bow — one  brass  field-piece  mounted 
on  a  carriage  in  the  stem — and  four  carronades.  She  is  manned 
by  i8o  men  and  boys.  The  long  gun  is  a  tremendous  instrument. 
The  sergeant  of  marines  who  has  charge  of  me,  a  very  fat  and 
good-humoured  fellow  who  rolls  in  his  waddle,  as  only  a  fat 
EngUshman  can  roll,  seems  greatly  attached  to  this  gun.  He  saw 
me  looking  at  it,  and  came  over  to  show  me  all  the  conditions  of 
it — ^how  it  traverses — how  it  is  raised  and  lowered  by  a  graduated 
scale  for  taking  aim,  and  so  forth.  "  Ah !  Sir,"  said  he,  "  she's  a 
clever  piece — she's  just  a  clever  piece,"  he  repeated,  slapping  her 
affectionately  on  the  breech  as  he  said  it.  The  men  were  called 
to  drill  by  beat  of  drum,  and  here  was  a  new  thing  to  me  ;  for  it 
seems  all  the  sailors,  as  well  as  marines  on  board  a  man-of-war  are 
regularly  drilled  as  soldiers.  They  were  armed  with  musket  and 
bayonet,  cutlasses,  boarding-pikes,  and  hatchets — altogether  most 
formidable  looking  pirates.  They  were  drilled  by  the  principal 
gimner,  and  certainly  know  how  to  handle  their  arms ;  but  the 
ship  rolled  so  much  that,  as  they  were  ranged  along  the  deck, 
they  had  to  balance  themselves  very  cunningly,  on  toes  and  heels 
alternately ;  and  sometimes  seemed  on  the  point  of  making  an 
involuntary  charge  across  the  deck  with  fixed  bayonets,  pinning 
the  gunner  and  half-a-dozen  officers  to  the  opposite  bulwark. 

The  organiser  and  chief  mover  on  board  the  Scourge  is  the  first 
lieutenant.  By  the  first  word  he  addressed  to  me,  I  perceived  he 
was  a  Derry  or  Tyrone  Irishman — told  him  so,  and  found  that  I 
was  right.  He  is  a  native  of  Tyrone ;  and  he  and  I  went  to 
school  in  the  same  city,  Derry,  at  the  same  time,  more  than 
twenty  years  ago,  but  not  at  the  same  school.  For  twenty-four 
years  he  has  been  in  the  navy,  and  is  (the  captain  tells  me),  a 
most  admirable  officer ;  but  seems  to  think  he  will  never  be  any- 


Mitchel's  Residence  in  1848 

(No.  8  Ontario  Terrace,  Charlemont  Bridgre,  Dublin) 


JAIL  JOURNAL  17 

thing  but  a  lieutenant.  He  has  not  parliamentary  connections, 
and  is  an  Irishman. 

Dined  with  the  captain,  whose  name  is  Wingrove.  After 
dinner,  the  saturnine  man  relaxed  a  little,  and  even  grew  cheerful. 
He  thought  I  ought  to  be  deeply  impressed  by  my  survey  of  his 
ship,  and  duly  awed  by  a  contemplation  of  the  power  and  majesty 
of  "  England."  Yes,  it  is  all  very  terrible  and  very  grand.  Cap- 
tain, but  if  Irishmen  had  only  the  sense  and  spirit  to  take  the 
management  pf  their  own  concerns,  you  would  want  carriages  for 
some  of  your  guns  :  some  of  the  gilding  would  be  rubbed  off  your 
epaulettes,  I  apprehend.  The  herds  and  harvests  that  we  send 
every  year  to  England  (getting  neither  money  nor  value  for  them) 
would  build  and  man  dozens  of  your  spitfire  Scourges,  besides 
frigates,  and  line  of  battle  ships,  what  may  suffice.  Wood, 
iron,  hemp,  gunpowder,  would  obey  Irish  hands  as  well  as 
Carthaginian. 

Captain  Wingrove  has  good  wine.  He  had  just  come  from 
Madeira  and  Portugal,  when  he  was  ordered  off  to  Bermuda,  so 
that  he  has  had  opportunities.  He  is  evidently  curious  about 
late  events  in  Ireland,  but  does  not  like  to  ask  me  much  about 
them.  Said  he  understood  there  was  a  practice  in  Ireland,  in  the 
law  courts  there,  called  packing  juries,  and  asked  what  it  meant. 
I  explained  it  to  him  ;  but  it  is  clear  that  he  hardly  believes  me  : 
indeed,  he  listens  to  ever5^hing  I  say  with  a  kind  of  quiet  smile — 
and  sometimes  looks  doubtfully  at  me,  as  if  he  thought  me 
slightly  insane,  and  expected  me  to  break  out  in  some  strange 
manner. 

yth. — ^The  weather  has  been  very  beautiful  and  warm,  for  some 
days ;  but  to-day  it  is  rather  foggy,  to  my  sorrow,  for  we  are 
passing  through  the  Azores  between  Terceira  and  St.  Michael's, 
and  cannot  see  them.  They  are  most  lovely  islands,  with  fine 
mountains  and  livers,  rich  in  grain  and  fruit.  Portugal  has 
these  and  Madeira  yet ;  but  perhaps  the  next  war  will  give  an 
excuse  to  the  bullying  pirates  of  Carthage  to  take  the  Azores 
for  coal  depots,  or  convict  depots,  and  so  create  some  situations 
to  relieve  the  pressure  of  younger  sons. 

The  officers  of  the  ship  seem  desirous  to  make  my  voyage  as 
little  irksome  to  me  as  possible.  Several  of  them  have  offered  to 
lend  me  books — and  though  I  had  vowed  to  look  on  no  book  save 

2 


^ 


i8  JAIL  JOURNAL 

sea  and  sky  during  the  passage,  I  find  I  must  have  recourse  to 
them.  A  sea  voyage  is  a  very  tedious  affair  :  the  weather  indeed 
is  warm  and  serene,  but  I  'gin  to  be  aweary  of  the  sun  :  he  is 
advancing  fast  to  his  summer  solstice,  and  we  are  rushing  to 
meet  him  at  the  rate  of  i8o  miles  per  day.  The  pure  profound 
blue  of  the  ocean  is  most  glorious  to  see.  One  whose  navigation 
has  been  confined  to  crossing  St.  George's  Channel,  with  its 
short  chopping  waves  and  dull  leaden  colour,  has  never  seen 
the  sea. 


CHAPTER  II 

June  12,  1848. — On  board  H.M.S.  Scourge.  Lat.  34°  N.,  long. 
40°  22'  W. — No  ship  has  been  in  sight  for  five  days.  The  routine 
of  the  Scourge  has  grown  famiUar  ;  and  one  tires  of  unbroken  fine 
weather  and  smooth  seas.  No  resource  for  me  but  the  officers' 
Uttle  Hbrary.  Therefore  I  have  been  sleepily  poring  over  Dana's 
"  Two  Years  before  the  Mast  "  :  a  pleasant,  rough  kind  of  book, 
but  with  something  too  much  hauling  of  ropes  and  "  handing  "  of 
sails  in  it.  Dana's  voyage  was  a  strange  one.  He  shipped  himself 
as  a  common  sailor,  on  board  a  Boston  ship  bound  to  California, 
on  a  two  years'  trading  voyage,  and  subjected  himself  to  short 
rations  and  the  insolence  of  a  brutal  captain  ;  and  all  because  he 
had  heard  the  sea  was  good  for  weak  eyes.  In  fact,  he  cured 
the  weakness  in  his  eyes.  Now,  I  have  weak  eyes,  too.  Cannot  I 
assume  this  present  sea-faring  of  mine,  and  my  residence  in  Ber- 
muda, to  be  merely  a  method  I  have  adopted  for  the  strengthening 
of  my  eyes  ?  And  I  will  probably  have  no  insolence,  or  hard 
work,  or  hard  fare  to  put  up  with,  as  poor  Dana  had ;  neither 
will  I  be  one  whit  more  a  prisoner  than  he  was. 

Mr.  Dana  is  now,  I  believe,  a  successful  lawyer  in  Boston  ;  and 
therefore,  perhaps,  more  a  prisoner,  drudge,  and  slave  now  than 
ever.  Truly  I  may  think  my  own  position  sad  enough  ;  but  what 
would  I  say  if  I  were  in  poor  Mr.  Dana's  ? 

I  have  been  reading,  also,  "  The  Amber  "Witch,"  a  most 
beautiful  German  story,  translated  into  admirable  English,  by 
Lady  Duff  Gordon. 

We  are  in  the  region  now  of  flying-fish  and  dolphins — ^not 
Arion's  dolphins,  nor,  indeed,  any  dolphins  at  all,  but  what  the 
ichthyological  terminology  of  the  British  navy  calls  dolphins. 
Sometimes,  also,  we  pass  through  whole  flotillas  of  "  Portuguese 
men-of-war,"  as  the  naval  branch  of  the  United  Service  calls  those 
beautiful  little  floating  mollusks  that  cruise  in  these  parts  under 
their  opaline  sails  of  purple  and  rose-coloured  membrane.  And 
again,  we  are  often  surrounded  by  the  Gulf-weed,  which  diffuses 

19 


20  JAIL  JOURNAL 

itself  hereabouts,  after  its  long  navigation  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico — if  such  be  really  its  history,  which  I  doubt. 

Met  a  large  ship  to-day.  We  passed  at  a  distance  of  two  miles. 
She  shows  French  colours,  and  is  supposed  to  be  a  West-India- 
man,  homeward  bound,  and  for  France.  In  a  few  days  the  vine- 
yards on  Garonne-bank,  or  the  quays  of  Nantes  or  Havre,  will 
welcome  her  snowy/^sails.     Oh,  had  I  the  wings  of  a  dove  ! 

i^th. — Gulf -weed,  Portuguese  men-of-war,  flying-fish. 

i$th. — Flying-fish,  Portuguese  men-of-war.  Gulf-weed. 

iC^A. —Gulf-weed,  flying-fish,  Portuguese  men-of-war. 

lyth. — Reading — for  want  of  something  better — "  Macaulay's 
Essays."  He  is  a  bom  Edinburgh  Reviewer,  this  Macaulay  ;  and, 
indeed,  a  type-reviewer — an  authentic  specimen-page  of  nine- 
teenth century  "  literature."  He  has  the  right,  omniscient  tone, 
and  air,  and  the  true  knack  of  administering  reverential  flattery 
to  British  civilization,  British  prowess,  honour,  enUghtenment, 
and  all  that,  especially  to  the  great  nineteenth  century  and  its 
astounding  civihzation,  that  is,  to  his  readers.  It  is  altogether  a 
new  thing  in  the  history  of  mankind,  this  triumphant  glorifica- 
tion of  a  current  century  upon  being  the  century  it  is.  No  former 
age,  before  Christ  or  after,  evei  took  any  pride  in  itself  and  sneered 
at  the  wisdom  of  its  ancestors  ;  and  the  new  phenomenon  indi- 
cates, I  believe,  not  higher  wisdom,  but  deeper  stupidity.  The 
nineteenth  century  is  come,  but  not  gone  ;  and  what  now,  if  it 
should  be,  hereafter,  memorable  among  centuries  for  something 
quite  other  than  its  wondrous  enlightenment  ?  Mr.  Macaulay, 
however,  is  well  satisfied  with  it  for  his  part,  and  in  his  essay  on 
Milton  penny-a-lines  thus :  "  Every  girl  who  has  read  Mrs. 
Marcet's  little  dialogues  on  political  economy,  could  teach  Mon- 
tague or  Walpole  many  lessons  on  finance.  Any  intelligent  man 
may  now,  by  resolutely  applying  himself  for  a  few  years  to  mathe- 
matics, learn  more  than  the  great  Newton  knew  after  half  a 
century  of  study  and  meditation  "  ;  and  so  on.  If  Pythagoras, 
now,  could  only  have  been  introduced  to  Mrs.  Marcet,  or  even 
to  one  of  her  premium  girls,  how  humbly  would  he  have  sat  at 
her  feet !  Could  Aristotle  or  Hipparchus  but  have  seen  Mr. 
Pinnock  before  they  died,  how  would  they  have  sung  nunc 
dimittas  !  This  nineteenth  century  man,  and  indeed  the  century 
generally,  can  see  no  difference  between  being  told  a  thing — 


JAIL  JOURNAL  21 

conning  it  in  a  catechism,  or  "  little  dialogue  " — and  knowing  it ; 
between  getting  by  heart  a  Ust  of  results,  what  you  call  facts, 
and  mastering  science. 

Still  more  edifying,  even  than  Edinburgh  wisdom,  is  the  current 
Edinburgh  ethics.  Herein,  also,  the  world  has  a  new  development; 
and  as  I  am  now  about  to  retire  a  little  while  from  the  great 
business  of  this  stirring  age,  to  hide  me,  as  it  were,  in  a  hole  of 
the  rock,  while  the  loud-sounding  century,  with  its  steam-engines, 
printing-presses,  and  omniscient  popular  literature,  flares  and 
rushes  roaring  and  gibbering  by,  I  have  a  mind  to  set  down  a  few 
of  Macaulay's  sentences,  as  a  kind  of  land-marks,  just  to  remind 
me  where  the  world  and  I  parted.  For  I  do,  indeed,  account 
this  Reviewer  a  real  type,  and  recognised  spokesman  of  his  age  ; 
and  by  the  same  token  he  is  now,  by  virtue  of  his  very  reviewing, 
too,  a  Cabinet  Minister. 

In  his  essay  on  Lord  Bacon,  he  freely  admits  the  treacherous, 
thoroughly  false,  and  unprincipled  character  of  the  statesmen  of 
that  age  ;  thinks,  however,  we  must  not  be  too  hard  on  them  ; 
says,  "it  is  impossible  to  deny  that  they  committed  many  acts 
which  would  justly  bring  down,  on  a  statesman  of  our  htne, 
censures  of  the  most  serious  kind  "  [as  that  a  man  is  a  liar,  an 
extortioner,  a  hypocrite,  a  suborner]  ;  "  but  when  we  consider 
the  state  of  morality  in  their  age,  and  the  unscrupulous  character 
of  the  adversaries  against  whom  they  had  to  contend,"  etc. 

And  the  state  of  morality,  it  seems,  varies,  not  with  the  age 
only,  but  with  the  climate  also,  in  a  wonderful  manner.  For  the 
essa5dst,  writing  of  Lord  Clive  and  his  villainies  in  India,  pleads 
in  behalf  of  Clive,  that  "  he  knew  he  had  to  deal  with  men 
destitute  of  what  in  Europe  ts  called  honour  ;  with  men  who  would 
give  any  promise,  without  hesitation,  and  break  any  promise 
without  shame  ;  with  men  who  would  unscrupulously  employ 
corruption,  perjury,  forgery,  to  compass  their  ends."  And  they 
knew  that  they  had  to  deal  with  men  destitute  of  what  in  Asia  is 
called  honesty — men  who  would  unscrupulously  employ- corrup- 
tion, perjury,  forgery,  etc. — so,  what  were  the  poor  men  to  do, 
on  either  side  ? — the  state  of  morality  was  so  low  !  When  one  is 
tempted  to  commit  any  wickedness,  he  ought,  apparently,  to 
ascertain  this  point — what  is  the  state  of  morahty  ?  How  range 
the  quotations  ?    Is  this  an  age  (or  a  climate)  adapted  for  open 


22  JAIL  JOURNAL 

robbery  ?  Or  does  the  air  agree  better  with  swindling  and  cheat- 
ing ?  Or  must  one  cant  and  pray,  and  pretend  anxiety  to  con- 
vert the  heathen — to  compass  one's  ends  ?  But  to  come  back  to 
Lord  Clive,  the  great  founder  of  British  power  in  India  ;  when  the 
essayist  comes  to  that  point  at  which  he  cannot  get  over  fairly 
telling  us  how  CUve  swindled  Omichund  by  a  forged  paper,  he 
says :  "  But  Chve  was  not  a  man  to  do  anything  by  halves  [too 
much  British  energy  for  that].  We  almost  blush  to  write  it.  He 
forged  Admiral  Watson's  name."  Almost  blush — ^but  not  just 
quite.  Oh  !  Babington  Macaulay.  This  approximation  to  blush- 
ing, on  the  part  of  the  blue-and-yellow  Reviewer,  is  a  graceful, 
touching  tribute  to  the  lofty  morahty  of  our  blessed  century. 

For  morality,  now — Lord  bless  you  —  ranges  very  high  ;  and 
Religion,  also  :  through  all  our  nineteenth-century  British  htera- 
ture  there  runs  a  tone  of  polite,  though  distant  recognition  of 
Almighty  God,  as  one  of  the  Great  Powers ;  and  though  not 
resident,  is  actually  maintained  at  His  court.  Yet  British  civiliza- 
tion gives  Him  assurances  of  friendly  relations  ;  and  "  oiu:  vener- 
able Church,"  and  our  "  beautiful  hturgy,"  are  relied  upon  as  a 
sort  of  diplomatic  Concordat,  or  Pragmatic  Sanction,  whereby 
we,  occupied  as  we  are,  in  grave  commercial  and  political  pur- 
suits, carrying  on  our  business,  selling  our  cotton,  and  civihzing 
our  heathen — bind  ourselves,  to  let  Him  alone,  if  He  lets  us  alone 
— if  He  will  keep  looking  apart,  contemplating  the  illustrious 
mare-milkers,  and  blameless  Ethiopians,  and  never-minding  us, 
we  will  keep  up  a  most  respectable  Church  for  Him,  and  make 
our  lower  orders  venerate  it,  and  pay  for  it  handsomely,  and  we 
will  suffer  no  national  infideUty,  Uke  the  horrid  French. 

For  the  venerable  Church  of  England,  and  for  our  beautiful 
liturgy,  the  essayist  has  a  becoming  respect ;  and  in  his  essay  on 
Hallam's  Constitutional  History,  I  find  a  sentence  or  two  on  this 
point  worth  transcribing.  He  is  writing  about  the  villains  who 
reformed  rehgion  in  England,  and  the  other  miscreants  who 
accomplished  the  Glorious  Revolution,  and  he  says  :  "  It  was,  in 
one  sense,  fortunate,  as  we  have  already  said,  for  the  Church  of 
England,  that  the  Reformation  in  this  country  was  effected  by 
men  who  cared  Uttle  about  rehgion.  And  in  the  same  manner  it 
was  fortunate  for  our  civil  Government  that  the  Revolution  was 
eftected  by  men  who  cared  httle  about  their  pohtical  principles. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  n 

At  such  a  crisis  splendid  talents  and  strong  passions  [by  strong 
passions  he  means  any  kind  of  belief  or  principle]  might  have  done 
more  harm  than  good."  But  then  he  inmiediately  adds — for  we 
must  keep  up  an  elevated  tone  of  morality  now — "  But  narrow- 
ness of  intellect,  and  flexibility  of  principle,  though  they  may  be 
serviceable,  can  never  be  respectable."  Why  not  ?  If  scoundrels 
and  blockheads  can  rear  good,  serviceable,  visible  churches  for 
the  saving  of  men,  and  glorious  constitutions  for  the  governing 
of  men,  what  hinders  them  from  being  respectable  ?  What  else 
is  respectable  ?  Or,  indeed,  what  is  the  use  of  the  splendid 
talents  and  the  strong  passions  at  all  ? 

I  am  wasting  my  time,  and  exasperating  the  natural  benignity 
of  my  temper,  with  this  oceanic  review  of  the  Edinburgh  Re- 
viewer. But  my  time  at  least  is  not  precious  just  now ;  and  I 
will  plunge  into  the  man's  essay  on  Lord  Bacon,  which  cannot 
fail  to  be  the  most  characteristic  piece  of  British  literature  in 
the  volimaes. 

This  must  be  done  to-morrow  ;  for  there  are  two  sails  reported 
in  sight  on  the  weather-bow,  which  is  an  event  of  high  interest  at 
sea  ;  besides,  the  sun  is  drawing  near  his  evening  bath — a  grand 
imperial  ceremony,  at  wl&h  I  always  assist. 

The  ships  in  sight  are — one  American  and  one  Carthaginian. 

i8ih. — Last  night,  after  two  bells  (one  o'clock),  I  was  awakened 
by  a  great  trampling,  pushing,  hauling,  and  thumping  on  deck. 
Something  unusual  was  certainly  going  forward.  Got  up  ;  went 
through  the  cabin,  and  to  the  foot  of  the  companion-ladder ; 
found  the  skyhghts  of  the  cabin  removed,  and  smooth  deck  laid 
in  their  place — the  captain  out  on  deck — the  companion-ladder 
blocked  up  at  the  top.  The  deck  was  cleared  for  action.  I  heard 
loud  words  of  command.  Spirit  of  the  Constitution  !  Has  war 
been  declared  since  we  came  to  sea  ?  Is  Baudin — is  Trehouart 
upon  us  ?  May  the  Powers  grant  it !  Oh,  Trehouart,  Admiral  of 
Heaven  ! — lay  yourself  alongside  here.  You  can  easily  wing  our 
accursed  paddle,  or  send  two  or  three  fifty-pounders  into  us 
amidships,  to  derange  the  economy  of  our  engine-room.  I  ran 
through  the  heutenant's  room,  telling  a  boy  who  was  there  to  run 
up  before  me  and  report  me  to  my  sergeant.  At  the  foot  of  one  of 
the  funnels  I  foimd  a  ladder  that  brought  me  on  deck.  Ah  1  there 
was  no  enemy  (no  friend)  in  sight ;  it  was  only  British  discipline 


I 


44  /^/i  fdUkNAL 

that  had  started  British  prowess  from  his  sleep,  to  practise  in 
the  dead  of  the  night.   We  were  alone  on  the  wide,  silent  sea,  and 
were  going  to  bombard  the  moon.   Four  times  we  shelled  her  with 
our  huge  mortar  ;  not,  if  truth  must  be  told,  with  actual  bomb- 
shells,  but  with  quarter-charges  of  powder ;    four  times  we 
thundered  at  her  with  our  long-gun  ;  four  times  with  our  carron- 
ades  ;  and  then,  British  energy  having  blotted  the  white  moon- 
shine awhile  with  his  gunpowder  smoke,  tumbled  into  his  ham- 
mock again.     No  hving  soul,  but  those  on  board,  heard  that 
cannonade- — for  fishes  are  notoriously  deaf.    On  the  convex  of 
the  great  globe  we  are  all  alone  here :   and  even  here  amongst 
the  guns  the  whole  effect  is  mean,  for  there  is  no  echo,  and  each 
report  is  a  mere  belch,  far  indeed  from  the  reverberating  thunder- 
ous roll  of  heavy  guns  alongshore.     It  is  a  pitiful  pyrotechny ; 
and  the  black  thunder-bearing  Scourge  seems,  in  this  silent 
immensity,  but  a  small  black  spiteful  spitfire  doing  its  paltry 
worst  to  trouble  the  still  empire  of  great  ambrosial  night.    But 
the  smoke  soon  melts  away,  drifting  off  to  leeward,  and  the 
solemn  Moon  (unharmed  apparently)  looks  down  as  mildly  on 
ship  and  ocean  as  before  the  battery  was  opened  upon  her.    For- 
give the  impudent  spitfire,  O  soft  Moon  !    Sink  her  not  to  the 
depths  with  a  discharge  of  thy  terrible  aerolite  grape — for  thou, 
too,  as  I  do  remember,  art  potent  in  artillery.     "  What  is  to 
become  of  us,  mortals,"  saith  Jean  Paul,  "  dweUing  on  this  bare 
convexity,  and  the  Moon  going  round  bombarding  us  with  stones, 
like  a  Turk !  "     Let  there  be  peace  between  us  and  thee,  0 
To$o<f)6f)a !     Oh,   fairest  huntress  'loxeaipa !     Call  to  mind  those 
nights  on  Latmos,  and  be  gracious  to  mortal  man.    We  have 
war-engines  enough,  argument  enough,  and  diaboUc  rage  enough, 
to  tear,  blow  up,  crush,  and  batter  one  another — ay,  enough  to 
glut  thee  in  thy  character  of  Hecate,  without  thy  ordnance  of 
meteor-stones.    Needs  not  that  thou  exact  human  sacrifices, 
beautitul  Bendis  !     Gentle  Astarte,  queen  of  Heaven  !     There  be 
ill-favoured  demons  enough  unto  whom  we  may  immolate  our 
brothers — Mammon  and  Moloch,  and  the  truly  enlightened  God 
of  civilization,  fair-spoken  Belial.    Do  thou,  O  Moon  !  wheel  thy 
bright  orbit,  weave  thy  mystic  nodes,  and  fill  thy  horns  in 
peace ! 

Fine  rant  this. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  25 

After  breakfast,  when  the  sun  burned  too  fiercely  on  deck, 
went  below,  threw  off  coat  and  waistcoat  for  coolness,  and  began 
to  read  Macaulay  on  Bacon — "  the  great  English  teacher,"  as  the 
reviewer  calls  him.  And  to  do  the  reviewer  justice,  he  under- 
stands Bacon,  knows  what  Bacon  did,  and  what  he  did  not ;  and 
therefore  sets  small  store  by  that  illustrious  Chimera's  new 
"  method  "  of  investigating  truth.  He  is  not  ignorant ;  but 
knows  that  Lord  Bacon's  discovery  of  the  inductive  "  method,"  or 
Novum  Organum,  is  the  most  genuine  piece  of  mare's-nesting 
recorded  in  the  history  of  letters.  And,  to  do  Bacon  himself 
justice,  for  all  the  impudence  of  his  title  [Instauratio  Scientiarum) 
and  the  pretentiousness  of  his  outrageous  phraseology,  he  hardly 
pretended  to  be  the  original  discoverer  of  wisdom,  to  the  extent 
that  many  Baconians,  learned  stupid  asses,  have  pretended  for 
him.  Apart  from  the  "  induction  "  and  the  "  method,"  and  the 
utterly  inexcusable  terminology  (far  worse  even  than  the  coinage 
of  Jeremy  Bentham),  Bacon's  true  distinction  as  a  "  philosopher  " 
was  this — I  accept  the  essa5dst's  description — "  The  philosophy 
which  he  taught  was  essentizdly  new.  Its  object  was  the  good  of 
mankind,  in  the  sense  in  which  the  mass  of  mankind  always  have 
understood,  and  always  will  imderstand,  the  word  good.  The  aim 
of  the  Platonic  philosopher  was  to  raise  us  far  above  vulgar  wants ; 
the  aim  of  the  Baconian  philosophy  was  to  supply  our  vulgar 
wants.  The  former  aim  was  noble  ;  but  the  latter  was  attainable." 
What  the  mass  of  mankind  understand  by  the  word  good  is,  of 
course,  pudding  and  praise  and  profit,  comfort,' power,  luxury, 
supply  of  vulgar  wants — all,  in  short,  which  Bacon  included  under 
the  word  commoda  ;  and  to  minister  to  mankind  in  these  things 
is,  according  to  the  great  English  teacher,  the  highest  aim — the 
only  aim  and  end — of  true  philosophy  or  wisdom.  O  Plato  ! 
0  Jesu! 

"  The  former  aim  was  noble,  but  the  latter  was  attainable." 
On  the  contrary,  I  afhrm  that  the  former  aim  was  both  noble  and, 
to  many  men,  attainable  ;  the  latter  not  only  ignoble,  but  to  all 
men  unattainable,  and  to  the  noblest  men  most. 

The  essayist  makes  himself  very  merry  with  the  absurdities  of 
what  they  called  philosophy  in  times  of  ante-Baconian  darkness. 
"  It  disdained  to  be  useful,  and  was  content  to  be  stationary.  It 
dealt  largely  in  theories  of  moral  perfection,  which'were  so  subUme 


36  JAIL  JOURNAL 

that  they  never  could  be  more  than  theories ;  it  attempts  to  solve 
insoluble  enigmas ;  in  exhortations  to  the  attainment  of  un- 
attainable frames  of  mind.  It  could  not  condescend  to 
the  humble  office  of  ministering  to  the  comfort  of  human 
beings." 

Now  the  truth  is,  that  Plato  and  Pythagoras  did  not  under- 
value comfort,  and  wealth,  and  human  commoda  at  all ;  but  they 
thought  the  task  of  attending  to  such  matters  was  the  business  of 
ingenious  tradespeople,  and  not  of  wise  men  and  philosophers. 
If  James  Watt  had  appeared  at  Athens  or  Crotona  with  his 
steam-engine,  he  would  certainly  have  got  the  credit  of  a  clever 
person  and  .praiseworthy  mechanic — all  he  deserved  ;  but  they 
never  would  have  thought  of  calling  him  philosopher  for  that. 
They  did  actually  imagine — those  ancient  wise  men — that  it  is 
true  wisdom  to  raise  our  thoughts  and  aspirations  above  what  the 
mass  of  mankind  calls  good — to  regard  truth,  fortitude,  honesty, 
purity,  as  the  great  objects  of  human  effort,  and  not  the  supply 
of  vulgar  wants. 

What  a  very  poor  fool  Jesus  Christ  would  have  been,  judged 
by  the  "  new  philosophy," — for  His  aim  and  Plato's  were  one. 
He  disddned  to  be  useful  in  the  matter  of  our  httle  comforts — 
yes,  indeed,  "  He  could  not  condescend  to  the  humble  office  of 
ministering  to  the  comfort  of  human  beings."  On  the  contrary, 
"  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  holy,  if 
there  be  any  virtue " 

Why,  good  Messiah!  this  is  the  mere  Academy  over  again. 
Have  you  considered  that  these  are  unattainable  frames  of  mind  ? 
You  offer  us  Uving  bread,  and  water  which  he  that  drinketh  shall 
not  thirst  again  ; — very  beautiful,  but  too  romantic.  Can  you 
help  us  to  butter  the  mere  farinaceous  bread  we  have  got,  to 
butter  it  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other  ? — to  improve 
the  elemental  taste  and  somewhat  too  paradisiac  weakness  of 
this  water  ?  These  are  our  vulgar  wants  ;  these  are  what  the 
mass  of  mankincL  agrees  to  caU  good.  Whatsoever  things  are 
snug,  whatsoever  things  are  influential — if  there  be  any  comfort, 
if  there  be  any  money,  think  on  these  things.  Henceforth  we 
acknowledge  no  hght  of  the  world  which  does  not  hght  our  way 
to  good  things  Uke  these. 

Almost  this  sounds  profanely  j  but  the  profanity  belongs  to  the 


JAIL  JOURNAL  J7 

essayist.  His  comparison  of  Plato's  philosophy  with  modem  in- 
ventive genius  is  exactly  as  reasonable  as  if  he  had  compared  the 
Christian  reUgion  with  the  same.  Ancient  philosophy  was  indeed 
natural  religion — was  an  earnest  striving  after  spritual  truth  and 
good  ;  it  dealt  with  the  supersensuous  and  nobler  part  of  man  ; 
and  its  "  aim  "  was  to  purify  his  nature,  and  give  him  hope  of 
an  immortal  destiny  amongst  the  enthroned  gods  on  sainted 
seats. 

Just  so,  says  the  essayist ;  that  was  what  they  called  wisdom — 
this  is  what  I,  Lord  Bacon  and  I,  call  wisdom.  "  The  end  which 
the  great  Lord  Bacon  proposed  to  himself  was  the  multiplying  of 
human  enjoyments  and  the  mitigating  of  human  sufferings."  Any- . 
thing  beyond  this  we  simply  ignore  ;  let  all  the  inquirings,  all 
the  aspirings  of  mankind  stop  here.  Leave  off  dreaming  of  your 
unattainable  frames  of  mind,  and  be  content  with  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Bacon. 

I  can  imagine  an  enlightened  inductive  Baconian  standing  by 
with  scornful  nose  as  he  listens  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and 
then  taking  the  Preacher  sternly  to  task — "  What  mean  you  by  all 
this — '  Bless  them  that  curse  you ' — '  Love  your  enemies ' — '  Be 
ye  perfect  as  your  Father  in  Heaven  is  perfect ! '  What  mortal 
man  ever  attained  these  frames  of  mind  ?  Why  not  turn  your  con- 
siderable talents,  friend,  to  something  useful,  something  within 
reach  ?  Can  you  make  anything  ? — improve  anything  ? — You  are, 
if  I  mistake  not,  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  have  been  working 
somewhere  in  GaUlee ;  now,  have  you  invented  any  Httle  improve- 
ment in  your  own  respectable  trade  ?  Have  you  improved  the 
saw,  the  lathe,  the  plane  ?  Can  you  render  the  loom  a  more 
perfect  machine,  or  make  a  better  job  of  the  potter's  wheel  ? 
Have  you  in  any  shape  economised  materials,  economised 
human  labour,  added  to  human  enjoyment  ?  Have  you  done, 
or  can  you  show  the  way  to  do,  any  of  all  these  things  ?  No  I 
Then  away  with  him  !    Crucify  him  !  " 

Ah  !  but  the  enUghtened  Briton  would  say,  "  Now  you  talk  of 
religion  ;  that  is  our  strong  point  in  this  admirable  age  and 
country.  Is  not  there  our  venerable  Church  ? — our  beautiful 
liturgy  ?  There  is  a  department  for  all  that,  with  the  excellent 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  at  the  head  of  it.  If  information  is 
wanted  about  the  other  world,  or  salvation,  or  anything  in  that 


28  JAIL  JOURNAL 

line,  you  can  apply  at  the  head-office,  or  some  of  the  subordinate 
stations.    . 

True,  there  is  a  department,  and  offices,  and  salaries,  more  than 
enough ;  yet  the  very  fact  is,  that  modem  British  civilisation 
(which  may  be  called  the  child  of  this  great  British  teacher)  is  not 
only  not  Christian,  but  is  not  so  much  as  Pagan.  It  takes  not 
the  smallest  account  of  anything  higher  or  greater  than  earth 
bestows.  The  hopeless  confusion  of  ider^s  that  made  Bacon  and 
Macaulay  institute  a  comparison  between  ancieni.  philosophy  and 
modem  ingenuity,  is  grown  characteristic  of  the  national  mind 
and  heart,  and  foreshadows  national  death.  The  mass  of  mankind 
agree  to  call  money,  power,  and  pleasure,  good  ;  and  behold  !  the 
Spirit  of  the  Age  has  looked  on  it,  and  pronounced  it  very  good. 
The  highest  phase  of  human  intellect  and  virtue  is  to  be  what  this 
base  spirit  calls  a  philanthropist — that  is,  one  who,  by  new  inven- 
tions and  comfortable  contrivances,  mitigates  human  suffering, 
heightens  human  pleasure.  The  grandest  effort  of  godlike  genius 
is  to  augment  human  power — power  over  the  elements,  power 
over  uncivilised  men — and  all  for  our  own  comfort.  Nay,  by 
tremendous  enginery  of  steam  and  electricity,  and  gunpowder — 
by  capital  and  the  "  law  of  progress,"  and  the  superhuman  power 
of  co-operation,  this  foul  Spirit  of  the  Age  does  veritably  count 
upon  scaling  the  heavens.  The  failure  of  Otus  and  Ephialtes,  of 
Typhaeus  and  Enceladus,  of  the  builders  of  Shinar,  never  daunts 
him  a  whit — for  why  ? — they  knew  little  of  co-operation  ;  elec- 
tricity and  steam  and  the  principle  of  the  arch  were  utterly 
hidden  from  them  ;  civil  engineering  was  in  its  infancy ;  how 
should  they  not  fail  ? 

The  very  capital  generated  ahd  circulated,  and  utilised  on  so 
grand  a  scale  by  civilised  men  now-a-days,  seems  to  modern 
Britons  a  power  mighty  enough  to  wield  worlds  ;  and  its  numen 
is  worshipped  by  them  accordingly,  with  filthy  rites.  The  God  of 
mere  nature  will,  they  assure  themselves,  think  twice  before  He 
disturbs  and  quarrels  with  such  a  power  as  this  ;  for  indeed  it  is 
faithfully  beheved  in  the  City,  by  the  moneyed  circles  there,  that 
God  the  Father  has  money  invested  in  the  three-per-cents,  which 
makes  Him  careful  not  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  world,  or  suffer 
the  blessed  march  of  "  civilisation  "  to  be  stopped. 

Semble  then,  first,  that  the  peace  of  the  world  is  maintained  so 


JAIL  JOURNAL  29 

long  as  it  is  only  the  unmoneyed  circle  that  are  robbed,  starved, 
and  slain  ;  and,  second,  that  nothing  civilises  either  gods  or  men 
like  holding  stock. 

But  I  am  strong  in  the  belief  that  the  portentous  confusion 
both  of  language  and  thought,  which  has  brought  us  to  all  this, 
and  which  is  no  accidental  misunderstanding,  but  a  radical  con- 
founding of  the  English  national  intellect  and  language,  a  chronic 
addlement  of  the  general  brain,  getting  steadily  worse  now  for 
two  hundred  years,  is  indeed  more  alarming  than  the  gibbering 
of  Babel,  and  is  symptomatic  of  a  more  disastrous  ending.  By 
terrible  signs  and  wonders  it  shall  be  made  known  that  comfort  is 
not  the  chief  end  of  man.  I  do  affirm,  I — that  Capital  is  not  the 
ruler  of  the  world — that  the  Almighty  has  no  pecuniary 
interest  in  the  stability  of  the  funds  or  the  European  balance  of 
power — finally,  that  no  engineering,  civil  or  miUtary,  can  raise 
man  above  the  heavens  or  shake  the  throne  of  God. 

On  that  day  some  nations  that  do  now  bestride  the  narrow 
world  will  learn  lessons  of  true  philosophy,  but  not  new  philo- 
sophy, in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  And  other  nations,  low  enough  in 
the  dust  now,  will  arise  from  their  sackcloth  and  begin  a  new 
national  hfe — to  repeat,  it  may  be,  the  same  crimes  and  suffer  the 
same  penalties.  For  the  progress  of  the  species  is  circular;  or 
possibly  in  trochoidal  curves,  with  some  sort  of  cycloid  for 
deferent ;  or  more  properly  it  oscillates,  describing  an  zirc  of  a 
circle,  pendulum-wise ;    and  even  measures  time  (by  aeons)  in 

that  manner  ;  or  let  us  say,  in  one  word,  the  world  wags. 
*  *  *  *  *  * 

Another  crimson  evening  is  upon  us.  The  sun,  in  a  conflagra- 
tion of  clouds,  flames  on  the  very  rim  of  Ocean.  He,  too,  the  un- 
wearied Sun,  is  chasing  his  own  shadow  round  and  round  the 
world.  "  The  Sun  also  aiiseth,  and  the  sun  goeth  down,  and 
hasteth  to  his  place  whence  he  rose.  All  the  rivers  run  into  the 
sea,  yet  the  sea  is  not  full ;  unto  the  place  from  whence  the  rivers 
came,  thither' they  return  again.  The  waters  wear  the  stones  : 
Thou  washest  away  the  things  which  grow  out  of  the  dust  of  the 
earth  ;  and  thou  destroyest  the  hope  of  man.  Thou  prevailest 
for  ever  against  him,  and  he  passeth."    Good  night.  , 

19/A. — One  other  observation  upon  the  "  great  English  teacher/' 
and  then  I  bid  him  farewell.    Try  to  measure  the  value  of  him 


30  JAIL  JOURNAL 

and  his  teaching,  even  in  respect  of  human  comfort,  power,  and 
luxury,  the  great  end  of  it  all.  First,  he  never  discovered,  or  even 
thoroughly  learned,  or,  properly  speaking,  knew,  anything  him- 
self. He  had  a  smattering,  like  X^ord  Brougham,  of  the  science  of 
his  age  ;  of  the  one  chancellor  it  might  be  said,  as  it  has  been  of 
the  other,  "if  he  had  known  a  Uttle  law  he  would  then  have 
known  a  httle  of  everj^hing."  But  I  crave  his  lordship's  pardon — 
his,  new  I  remember,  was  a  nobler  mission — ^not  to  toil  himself, 
amidst  laboratory  fumes,  forges,  and  furnaces,  but  to  direct 
others  how  to  toil :  to  survey  and  lay  out  great  leading  paths  of 
investigation,  to  take  a  vast  comprehensive  view  of  the  whole 
field  of  science,  and  allot  the  labourers  their  tasks.  This  man, 
then,  living  in  an  age  of  extraordinary  intellectual  and  experi- 
mental activity — shortly  after  Galileo  had  demonstrated  the  true 
solar  and  planetary  motions  and  Kepler  had  fixed  their  laws — 
after  the  telescope  and  the  mariner's  compass  and  the  printing- 
press  had  been  invented  (and  all  without  the  Organum) — this 
smattering  chancellor,  who  never  himself  discovered  anything, 
except  his  law,  is  supposed  to  have  shown  quite  a  new  way,  given 
quite  a  fresh  impulse  and  a  worthy  aim  to  "  philosophy."  I  want 
the  evidence ;  but  there  is  none.  Therefore  I  dogmatically 
affirm  that  no  chemist,  no  geologist,  no  mechanist,  physician, 
astronomer,  engineer,  or  other  "  philosopher,"  ever  since  Bacon's 
day,  in  any  investigation  or  series  of  experiments,  thought  once 
of  the  instanticB,  or  the  vindemice,  or  any  of  the  other  uncouth 
verbiage  which  makes  up  that  preposterous  book.  I  affirm, 
further,  that  of  those  men  who  have  really  carried  forward 
science  and  the  arts,  not  one  in  forty  ever  read  that  book — that  of 
those  who  read  it  not  one  in  forty  understood  it — and  that  of 
those  who  understood  it,  not  one  at  all  made  use  of  it. 

Hereupon  the  essayist,  you  may  be  sure,  would  tell  me  that 
although  indeed  they  did  not  read,  understand,  or  value  the 
teachings  of  that  book,  or  know  the  things  treated  of  therein  by 
Bacon's  names,  yet  they  did  pursue  their  inquiries,  and  conduct 
their  experiments  with  due  regard  to  the  very  instantiae  of  the 
"  Organum,"  and  gather  in  their  vintages  by  the  very  process 
our  great  teacher  taught — yes,  they  did  so,  just  as  Tubal  Cain 
and  Daedalus,  Archimedes,  Aristotle,  Colimibus,  and  Kepler  did 
before  them,  and  not  otherwise. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  31 

What  Lord  Bacon  really  did,  then,  the  whole  result  and  upshot 
of  his  teaching — if  an5d:hing  at  all — was  this — to  cause  mechanical 
ingenuity  and  experimental  or  empiric  investigations  into  the  laws 
of  bodies  (with  a  sole  view  to  use  and  comfort)  to  be  substituted 
for  Philosophy  and  dignified  with  that  venerable  name.  And  the 
popular  essayist,  not  being  an  ill-informed  man,  nor  behind,  nor 
before  his  age,  acknowledges  that  this  is  what  Bacon  did  and 
pronoimces  that  he  did  well. 

Now  I  am  tired  of  Macualay  and  his  Essays,  and  see  with  sur-» 
prise  that  I  have  filled  up  some  fourteen  pages  with  a  tirade 
against  him.  He  is,  after  all,  a  very  clever  and  dexterous 
artificer  in  words  ;  one  of  the  deftest  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
His  Lay  of  Horatius  and  his  ballad  of  Naseby  might  be  imposed 
at  first  upon  anybody,  for  poems,  for  true  Song.  I  took  them 
for  such  myself  not  long  ago  :  but  the  thing  is  impossible. 

"  And  what's  impossible  can't  be. 
And  never,  never,  comes  to  pass." 

It  has  grown  intolerably  hot :  and  there  is  no  escape  :  not  a 
breath  of  cool  air  can  any  longer  be  won,  for  the  calm  is  like  death, 
and  the  sea,  burnished  as  a  brazen  mirror,  flashes  back  fiercely  the 
glare  of  the  ardent  sim,  as  if  we  were  between  two  fiery  furnaces. 
The  little  pennon  of  slender  feathers,  set  up  on  the  ship's  quarter, 
though  we  are  steaming  eight  knots  an  hour,  hangs  straight 
against  its  shaft.  The  fat  sergeant  wipes  the  sweat  from  his  brow. 
The  water  is  hot  in  the  tank — the  wine  hot  in  the  bottles,  and  the 
sea-water,  with  solution  of  gunpowder,  will  co(^  it  no  longer. 
What  true  philosopher  will  teach  man  to  cool  his  wine,  without 
ice,  under  a  tropic  sun  ?  Not  a  sail  on  the  sea  ;  nor  a  wing  in  the 
sky ;  nor  anything  to  indicate  that  this  wondrous  ocean  is  not 
shoreless.  What  if  we  lip;^^  missed  Bermuda  ?  No  matter ;  I 
have  no  objection  to  circumnavigate  the  globe.  But  the  saiUng- 
master,  for  his  part,  seems  pretty  confident  that  to-morrow, 
about  mid-day,  we  shall  make  the  islands. 

20th. — Bermuda  !  About  ten  o'clock  to-day,  after  the  amber 
morning  mist  had  lifted  itself  from  the  sea,  the  man  at  the  mast- 
head sang  out  "  Land  !  "  It  was  the  first  land  visible  since  leav- 
ing Ireland,  and  every  one  was  eager  for  a  glimpse  of  it.  I  looked 
ahead  more  curiously  than  any  one  else  ;  having  at  present  more 


32  JAIL  JOURNAL 

interest  in  Bermuda  than  my  shipmates  have.  Soon  it  became 
visible  from  the  top  of  the  paddle-box  ;  several  low  "  hummocks  " 
of  land,  sharply  defined  against  the  sky  and  quite  near  to  us  ;  for 
no  point  of  Bermuda  is  more  than  i8o  feet  high,  and  it  cannot  be 
seen  until  you  are  almost  upon  it.  Half  an  hour  more  and  we 
lay-to  for  a  pilot :  presently  a  boat  came  off :  the  boatmen  were 
mulattoes,  with  palmetto  hats  ;  the  pilot  himself  an  utter  negro. 
Soon  we  passed  the  dangerous  entrance  that  lies  between  the 
^  easternmost  island  (crowned  by  a  battery  of  Carthaginian  cannon) 
and  a  great  reef  that  bounds  the  archipelago  on  the  north  ;  and 
then  we  coasted  along  two  of  the  largest  islands  for  about  ten 
miles,  and  had  a  near  view  of  the  land,  the  houses  and  the  people. 
Almost  with  glasses  we  might  have  inspected  the  domestic  arrange- 
ments through  their  open  doors.  There  is  a  thick  population  all 
along  here  :  their  houses  are  uniformly  white,  both  walls  and 
roof,  but  uncomfortable-looking  for  the  want  of  chimneys  ;  the 
cooking-house  being  usually  a  small  detached  building.  The 
rocks,  wherever  laid  bare  (except  those  long  washed  by  the  sea), 
are  white  or  cream-coloured.  The  whole  surface  of  all  the  islands 
is  made  up  of  hundreds  of  low  hillocks,  many  of  them  covered 
with  a  pitiful  scraggy  brush  of  cedars  ;  and  cedars  are  their  only 
tree.  The  land  not  under  wood  is  of  a  brownish  green  colour, 
and  of  a  most  naked  and  arid,  himgry  and  thirsty  visage.  No 
wonder  :  for  not  one  single  stream,  not  one  spring,  rill,  or  well, 
gushes,  trickles,  or  bubbles  in  all  the  three  hundred  isles,  with 
their  three  thousand  hills.  The  hills  are  too  low,  and  the  land 
too  narrow,  and  all  the  rock  is  a  porous  calcareous  concretion, 
which  drinks  up  all  the  rain  that  falls  on  it,  and  would  drink 
ten  times  as  much,  and  be  thirsty  afterwards.  Heavens  !  what 
a  burned  and  blasted  country. 

"  Where  never  fountain  or  fresh  current  flowed 
Against  the  eastern  ray,  translucent,  pure, 
With  touch  ethereal  of  heaven's  fiery  rod  \" 

The  people,  it  seems,  have  to  be  assiduous  in  catching  the  rain  ; 
cunning  in  spouts  and  tanks  ;  and  their  stone  is  at  any  rate  good 
for  filtering  water  when  they  have  it.  I  can  see  no  cultivation  of 
any  sort,  except  some  gardens ;  and  there  is  very  little  of  the 
land  cultivated  at  all.    On  the  whole,  this  place  bears  to  my  eyes 


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JAIL  JOURNAL  33 

an  unkindly  and  foreign  aspect ;  and  as  we  coasted  along  here 
mile  after  mile,  and  saw  nothing  but  the  small  hills  and  shrubby 
cedars,  and  parched  soil,  I  thought  with  keen  desidenum  upon 
our  own  green  Banba  of  Streams.  In  that  hour's  saiUng  I  could 
not  help  continually  murmuring  to  myself  : 

"  A  plenteous  place  is  Ireland  for  hospitable  cheer, 

UUagone  dhu,  oh ! 
Where  the  wholesome  fruit  is  bursting  from  the  yellow  barley  ear, 

UUagone  dhu,  oh ! 
There  is  honey  in  the  trees,  where  her  misty  vales  expand. 
And  the  forest-paths  in  summer  are  by  falling  waters  fanned, 
There  is  a  dew  at  high  noontide  there,  and  springs  in  the  yellow  sand, 

On  the  fair  hills  of  holy  Ireland." 

But,  after  all,  these  are  fertile  and  fine  islands ;  they  bring  forth 
and  nourish  thousands  of  creatures  to  all  appearance  human  ; 
have  two  towns  even  ;  cities  of  articulate-speaking  men,  one  of 
them  being  the  seat  of  government  and  "  legislature  "  ;  have  a 
dockyard,  two  barracks,  two  newspapers,  absolute  "  organs  of 
opinion  "  (with  editors,  I  suppose,  puffs,  and  other  appurten- 
ances) ;  what  is  better,  have  abundance  of  fruit,  vegetables,  and 
fish  ;  and  I  can  see  some  cows,  and  plenty  of  goats,  pigs,  poultry. 
Verily,  the  land  is  a  good  land.  It  was  here,  amongst  these 
very  cedars,  that  noster  George  Berkeley  desired  to  establish  a 
missionary  college,  with  a  view  to  convert  red  Americans  to 
Christianity,  and  gave  up  his  fat  deanery  of  Derry  that  he  might 
take  up  house  here  as  Principal  of  his  college  at  £100  a  year. 
The  English  minister  (Sir  Robert  Walpole,  I  think)  promised  a 
grant  of  £20,000  for  that  college  ;  and  on  the  strength  of  this 
promise  Berkeley  left  Derry,  went  to  New  England,  where  he 
stayed  a  year,  expecting  the  grant  and  charter,  soUciting  objur- 
gating, reminding,  remonstrating — till  his  heart  was  nearly 
broken,  and  then  he  came  home  to  Ireland,  almost  in  despair. 
Good  man  !  he  little  knew  what  a  plague  Ministers  thought  him, 
with  his  missionary  colleges  ;  they  had  quite  another  plan  for 
the  conversion  of  the  red  people — to  convert  them,  namely,  into 
red  humus.  But  they  gave  George  a  bishopric  at  Cloyne,  and 
there  he  philosophised  and  fiddled  till  he  died.  It  was  to  Ber- 
muda, also,  that  Prospero,  on  a  certain  night,  sent  his  Ariel  "  to 
3 


34  JAIL  JOURNAL 

fetch  dew."  Albeit,  one  might  hardly  know  these  isles  for  the 
still-vexed  Bermoothes,  for  they  lie  sleeping  on  the  glassy  sea 
to-day,  as  tranquil  as  an  infant  on  it's  mother's  bosom. 

And  was  it  not  here,  too,  that  "  metaphysical  "  Waller,  having 
transported  himself  hither  to  shun  the  evil  days,  dreamed  his 
"  Dream  of  the  Summer  Islands  ?  "  and  has  not  Moore,  also,  sung 
these  cedars  ?  Bermuda,  then,  has  its  associations ;  is  even 
classical ;  in  fact,  is  apparently  a  genuine  fragment  of  the  flowery 
earth,  peering  above  the  Atlantic  flood  here.  At  any  rate,  it  is 
habitable  ;  and  truly,  if  I  am  to  be  allowed  some  moderate  hberty 
here,  say  the  range  of  one  of  the  islands,  I  might  bring  out  all  my 
flock,  and  we  could  cultivate  arrow-root,  oranges,  and  potatoes, 
dwelling  primitively  in  a  white-roofed  cottage,  with  the  sea  in 
front,  and  a  forest  of  cedar  behind.  This  might  be  ;  possibly  the 
"  instructions,"  the  sealed  orders  Captain  Wingrove  carries  out, 
may  admit  of  such  an  arrangement.  The  cHmate  is  said  to  be 
somewhat  unhealthy  ;  but  my  little  ones  would  surely  grow  strong 
in  the  vital  sunshine,  and  so  we  might  hibernate  [cestivate)  here, 
until  either  the  term  assigned  me  by  my  kidnappers  is  past,  or 
some  "  reason  of  state  "  (for  British  statesmanship  is  deep,  deep) 
shall  come  to  set  me  free. 

At  last  we  arrived  at  the  anchorage  in  front  of  the  government 
island,  where  the  dock-yard  is  established.  This  island  is  at  the 
extreme  northwest  of  the  whole  group,  and  its  name  is  nothing 
less  than  Ireland.  On  one  side  of  us,  as  we  come  to  anchor,  hes 
the  huge  trans- Atlantic  steam-junk.  Great  Western  ;  on  the 
other  side  we  find  ourselves  under  the  guns  of  a  stately  line-of- 
battle  ship  of  seventy-four  guns,  with  the  square  red  flag  at  the 
mast  head  denoting  that  she  carries  an  admiral.  A  small  govern- 
ment steamer  is  moving  about  in  the  bay  ;  the  dock,  or  camber, 
sheltered  by  its  breakwater,  has  several  ships  lying  in  it,  and 
scores  of  boats,  of  a  peculiar  and  most  graceful  rig,  are  flying  in 
all  directions — so  that  the  scene  is  a  very  lively  one  to  those  who 
have  been  three  weeks  in  the  solitudes  of  the  ocean. 

This  admiral,  whose  station  includes  the  W'est  Indies  and  North 
America,  I  find  to  be  no  other  than  the  old  Lord  Cochrane — or 
Lord  Dundonald,  as  they  call  him  now — the  very  man  who  cut 
out  the  Esmeralda  from  the  roads  of  Callao — the  ChiUan  admiral 
under  O'Higgins — the  Greek  navarch  under  the  Congress  of 


JAIL  JOURNAL  35 

Epidaurus — who  has  swom  more  oaths  of  allegiance  to  revolu- 
tionary provisional  governments  than  any  living  man — who  has 
been  fighting  the  aquatic  half  of  wars  of  independence  all  over 
the  terraqueous  globe,  from  his  youth  up.  I  have  no  doubt, 
however,  that  he  regards  Irish  revolutionists  as  highly  immoral 
characters. 

The  evening  has  been  delicious,  and  I  have  spent  it,  imtil  sun- 
set, chatting  on  deck  with  the  officers,  and  siuveying  the  islands 
around  through  a  glass.  Ireland  island  seems  a  strong  fortress. 
A  handsome  range  of  buildings  crowns  the  hill  in  the  middle  of 
the  island ;  this  is  a  barrack,  with  government  storehouses  ad- 
joining, all  having  arched  and  bomb-proof  roofs.  In  front  of  this 
the  hill  is  deeply  scarped  down  to  the  level  of  the  dockyard  ;  and 
in  rear  the  slope  is  cut  into  terraces,  mounted  with  cannon.  The 
barrack  hill  communicates,  by  a  long,  sweeping  line  of  fortifica- 
tions, with  another  hill  on  the  extreme  north  of  the  island,  which 
is  occupied  with  other  government  buildings,  and  surrounded  by 
powerful  batteries.  In  the  crescent  formed  by  all  these  works, 
to  the  eastward,  is  the  naval  dockyard,  with  its  stores,  offices, 
and  wet  dock.    Some  of  the^e  are  vast  and  sumptuous  buildings. 

There  is  no  such  naval  estabUshment  as  this  in  Ireland — I 
mean  the  other  Ireland.  The  Carthaginians  have  always  taken 
good  care  of  that. 

Inside  the  camber  I  see  moored  three  great  clumsy  hulks, 
roofed  over,  and  peopled  by  men  in  white  linen  blouses  and  straw 
hats — and  on  the  back  of  every  man's  blouse,  certain  characters 
and  figures,  and  the  queen' s  broad  arrow.  They  seem  to  be  drilled 
and  marched  like  troops.  Now,  am  I  to  be  enlisted  in  these 
rueful  squadrons,  and  marked  for  the  queen's  own  these  fourteen 
years  to  come  ? — I  trust  not.    But  if  it  be  so,  be  it  so. 

The  sun  has  gone  down,  ""Uke  battle  target  red,"  behind  the 
cedars.  The  skimming  Bermudian  boats,  with  their  black  crews 
of  marketmen  and  washerwomen,  have  vanished  under  the  dusky 
shores.  The  flag-ship  has  fired  her  evening  gun  ;  and  I  have 
retired,  for  the  last  time,  to  my  cabin  on  board  the  Scourge. 
The  captain  has  reported  himself  and  his  errand  to  the  admiral ; 
the  admiral  has  communicated  with  the  Governor  : — to-morrow, 
I  will  know  my  appointed  home. 


CHAPTER   III 

June  2isi,  1848.  Still  on  board  the  Scourge,  Bermuda. — 
Another  steamer  appeared  to-day  in  the  north-eastern  channel — • 
another  of  the  great  West  India  packets,  two  of  which  rendezvous 
here  at  Bermuda  once  a  fortnight.  Her  deck  was  swarming  with 
passengers,  male  and  female,  as  she  came  to  her  moorings  beside 
us.  She  left  Southampton  on  the  2nd  of  June,  and  brings  London 
papers  up  to  that  date.  Our  second  Ueutenant  instantly  boarded 
her  as  officer  on  guard,  and  brought  back  two  or  three  papers  ;  and 
as  I  had  seen  none  later  than  the  26th  May,  I  was  glad  to  get  a 
glance  even  at  the  Morning  Post.  The  leading  article  is  about 
"  the  convict  Mitchel,"  who  is  pronounced  by  that  authority  to 
be  not  only  a  convict  but  a  scoundrel.  What  was  more  interest- 
ing to  me,  I  found  Sir  George  Grey's  reply  to  a  question  in 
Parliament,  as  to  whether  my  sentence  would  be  executed. 
"  Her  Majesty's  Government  had  sent  instructions  to  Ireland, 
that  the  convict  Mitchel' s  sentence  should  be  fully  carried 
out."  Infinite  and  inscrutable  is  the  stupidity  of  mortal  man  ! — 
the  question  was  put  by  Edmtmd  Burke  Roche,  and  was  to  this 
effect :  Whether  the  Government  would  really  carry  out  to  the 
full  extent  "  the  imjust  and  disproportionate  sentence "  pro- 
nounced in  my  case  ?  Blockhead  ! — the  sentence  was  neither 
unjust  nor  disproportionate,  if  I  had  been  tried  and  found  guilty — • 
the  nature  of  the  trial,  not  the  severity  of  the  sentence,  is  the 
thing  calling  for  explanation  and  inquiry,  and  to  that  Edmund 
Burke  made  no  allusion.  Of  course  the  Minister  in  his  reply 
takes  care  to  rebuke  the  questioner,  and  properly,  too,  for  caUing 
a  sentence  "  regularly  pronounced  in  due  course  of  law  "  unjust 
and  disproportionate.  Can  legislatorial  helplessness  sink  any 
lower  than  this  ? 

But  what  I  find  most  interesting  of  all  in  this  paper  is  in  the 
column  headed  "  Ireland  " — to  wit,  the  prospectus  of  the  Irish 
Felon  weekly  newspaper,  signed  by  Reilly  and  Martin,  estab- 
lished to  preach  the  doctrine  of  "  Convict  Mitchel,"  and  to 

36 


JAIL  JOURNAL  37 

extend  and  promote  the  sacred  principle  of  Irish  Felony.  This  is 
very  good,  and  cannot  end  badly.  It  will  force  the  Carthaginians 
upon  more  and  more  decided  efforts  of  vigour — that  is  to  say, 
more  and  more  outrageous  atrocities  of  lawless  tyranny  ;  it  will 
compel  all  Lamartinesque  poUticians  to  become  "  felons,"  or  else 
say  at  once  they  meant  no  revolution  ;  it  will  rouse  attention  to 
the  struggle,  and  to  the  true  meaning  of  the  struggle ;  it  will 
induce  more  and  more  of  the  people  to  get  arms ;  it  will  strip 
British  Whiggery  bare  of  his  treacherous,  conciliatory,  liberal 
lambs- wool,  and  show  him  gnashing  his  teeth  like  a  ravening 
beast — for  no  brute  is  so  ferocious  as  your  frightened  capitedist ; 
it  will  silence  all  talk  of  "  law,"  and  shiver  to  atoms  the  "  last 
plank  of  the  Constitution  " — leaving  Ireland  as  naked  of  all  law 
and  government  (save  the  bayonet)  as  on  the  day  when  she  first 
rose  from  the  sea — as  plainly  and  notoriously  naked  of  law  and 
government  (save  the  bayonet)  as  she  has  been  really  and 
effectually  these  fifty  years.  At  last  she  cannot  but  know  that 
she  is  naked — pray  God  she  be  ashamed  \  Then,  if  the  Irish 
people  will  obey  British  bayonets,  I  say  again,  from  my  heart, 
let  them  obey  and  be  hanged  ! 

To  be  sure,  Reilly  and  Martin  will  be  seized  without  delay,  their 
paper  stopped,  themselves  "  tried,"  as  the  phrase  is,  and  probably 
transported  ;  for  an  insulted  government  cannot  stand  this.  And 
Meagher,  Duffy,  O'Gorman,  O'Brien,  Dillon,  some  or  all  of  them, 
may  follow.  No  matter ;  better  men  have  been  starved  to 
death  by  hundreds  and  thousands. 

I  know  very  well  that  this  whole  idea  and  scheme  of  mine  wears 
a  wonderfully  feeble  and  silly  aspect  in  the  eyes  of  statesmanhke 
revolutionists  ;  they  can  see  nothing  more  in  it  than  a  number  of 
gentlemen  agreeing  to  dash  out  their  own  brains,  one  after  another, 
against  a  granite  fortress,  with  the  notion  that  they  are  laying 
desperate  siege  to  it.  These  statesmanhke  politicians  say  to  us 
that  we  should  wait  till  we  are  stronger  ;  that  we  should  conspire 
and  organise  in  secret,  keeping  under  the  shelter  of  the  law  for 
the  present ;  that  when  plainly  advising  men  to  arm  is  made  a 
"  transportable  offence,"  we  should  no  longer  plainly  advise,  but 
exhort  and  influence  them  privately,  imtil,  etc.,  etc.  Wait  till 
your  principles  take  root  before  you  disseminate  them,  said  a  prudent 
adviser  to  me.    But  he  who  talks  thus  knows  nothing  of  Ireland. 


38  JAIL  JOURNAL 

In  Ireland  there  can  be  no  secrecy,  so  thick  is  it  planted  with 
Castle-spies.  In  Ireland  you  can  never  organise  to  any  useful 
purpose  so  long  as  they  are  so  miserably  cowed  by  "  law,"  and  see 
nobody  willing  to  deny  and  defy  this  law.  In  Ireland  no  private 
influence  can  make  men  procure  arms,  because  they  have  been 
taught  for  forty  years  to  account  arms  not  honourable  and  need- 
ful, but  criminal  and  illegal ;  and  if  you  spoke  to  them  about 
arms  in  their  own  houses  or  fields,  they  would,  perhaps,  give  you 
up  at  the  nearest  police-barrack  as  a  "  Ribbonman  " — so  they 
have  been  instructed,  poor  fellows,  by  priest  and  agitator.  How, 
then,  are  we  to  get  stronger  by  waiting  ?  Are  we  not  getting 
weaker,  baser,  more  cowardly,  more  beggarly,  the  longer  we  wait  ? 
No  ;  we  must  try  the  virtue  of  plain,  outspoken,  desperate  truth 
for  once.  We  must  openly  glorify  arms,  imtil  young  Irishmen 
bum  to  handle  them,  and  try  their  temper  ;  and  this  we  must  do 
in  defiance  of  "  law,"  and  the  more^dihgently  that  London  laws 
are  expressly  made  against  it.  We  must,  in  short,  make  final 
protest  against  this  same  "  law  " — deny  that  it  is  law ;  deny 
that  there  is  any  power  in  the  London  Parhament  to  make  laws  for 
us,  and  declare  that  as  a  just  God  ruleth  in  the  earth  we  will 
obey  such  laws  no  longer.  I  think  there  will  be  found  some 
virtue  in  this  statesmanship  of  mine,  if  men  still  grow  in  Ireland  ; 
at  any  rate  I  know  no  better. 

At  four  o'clock  this  evening— ras  I  was  informed  by  means  of  a 
note  to  Captain  Wingrove  from  the  admiral — a  boat  wets  to  come 
off  to  the  ship  for  me  ;  therefore  I  made  ready  my  portmanteau. 
Several  of  the  officers,  whose  names  I  wiU  not  write  here  (but 
shall  not  forget),  judging  correctly  that  wherever  I  should  be 
stowed  away  I  should  want  books,  and  knowing  that  I  had  no 
opportunity  of  providing  such  things  before  my  kidnapping, 
begged  I  would  allow  them  to  give  me  a  few  volumes  out  of 
their  store.  This  was  genuine  kindliness  of  heart ;  and,  as  I  have 
no  quarrel  with  these  gentlemen  personally,  I  took  from  four 
of  them,  one  book  from  each.  I  have  never  found  it  easy,  on 
a  sudden,  to  haughtily  repel  any  attention  offered  out  of  pure 
goodwill.  It  is  not  in  me.  Yet  I  believe  that  if  time  for  con- 
sideration had  been  given  me,  I  would  have  refused  the  courtesy 
of  these  decent  fellows  !  What !  shall  I — I,  John  Mitchel,  accept 
presents,  almost  eleemosynary  presents  from  officers  of  the  Queen 


■^"v^^V^iSr" 


JAIL  JOURNAL  39 

of  England  ?  But  I  am  glad  that  I  had  no  time  for  exasperating 
reflections.  Four  o'clock  came,  and  two  boats  approached, 
straight  from  the  dockyard,  and  pulled  by  men  in  the  white 
blouses.  The  hulks,  then !  No  sea-side  cottages  or  cedarn 
valleys  for  me — a  I'outrance,  then.  Gaffer  Bull ! 

Three  men  came  on  board  the  Scourge.  One,  a  tall  elderly 
gentleman,  in  a  blue  naval  coat,  announced  himself  as  superin- 
tendent of  convicts  ;  another  was  commander  of  one  of  the  hulks  ; 
the  third,  a  medical  officer.  Fevf  words  passed.  Captain  Wingrove 
took  a  receipt  for  my  body  (on  which  it  became  the  property  of 
the  man  in  blue) ,  and  bade  me  farewell  with  good  wishes.  Two 
of  the  officers  stood  at  the  gangway ;  and,  as  I  stepped  forward  to 
descend  the  ladder,  shook  me  warmly  by  the  hand.  We  were 
pulled  straight  for  the  innermost  of  the  three  hulks,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  I  found  myself  on  the  quarter-deck.  The  superintendent 
then  informed  me  that  I  was,  for  the  present,  to  wear  my  own 
attire,  and  not  to  be  sent  out  upon  the  works.  I  nodded.  He 
then  asked,  "  Have  you  any  money  ?  "  "A  few  shilUngs,"  "  Any 
credit  in  the  colony  ?  "  "  None."  He  called  the  chief  mate  of  the 
ship  to  him,  and  said  :  "  Take  Mitchel's  money,  and  place  it  to  his 
credit."  The  mate,  a  tall  old  man  with  grey  hair,  locked  at  me 
dubiously,  as  if  he  thought  me  a  novel  species  of  convict,  and  did 
not  exactly  know  how  to  proceed.  So  I  took  out  my  tricolor  purse 
— "  Here,  friend,"  I  said,  and  emptied  all  I  had  into  his  hand. 
"  Now,"  said  the  superintendent,  "  you  will  find  that  nobody  here 
has  any  disposition  to  add  to  the  annoyances  you  must  suffer — no 
severity  of  any  kind  will  be  used  towards  you,  provided  you  are 
amenable  to  the  rules  of  the  place."  I  nodded.  "  Especially,"  he 
added,  "  it  is  my  duty  to  tell  you  that  you  are  to  have  no  connec- 
tion with  public  affairs,  or  pohtics,  and  are  not  to  attempt  to 
tamper  with  any  of  the  prisoners  on  board."  I  answered  that  I 
could  hardly  expect  to  be  permitted  here  to  take  part  in  public 
affairs  ;  and  that  I  desired  to  have  as  little  intercourse  with  the 
prisoners  on  board  as  possible. 

The  mate  then  said  he  would  show  me  where  I  was  to  be  lodged ; 
I  followed  him  down  a  ladder  to  the  half-deck,  and  there,  in  the 
very  centre  of  the  ship,  opening  from  a  dark  passage,  appeared  a 
sort  of  cavern,  just  a  little  higher  and  a  little  wider  than  a  dog- 
house ;  it  is,  in  fact,  the  very  hole  through  which  the  main-mast 


40  JAIL  JOURNAL 

formerly  ran  down  into  the  ship,  and  would  be  quite  dark  but  for 
two  very  small  and  dim  bulls'-eyes  that  are  set  into  the  deck 
above.  I  cannot  stand  quite  erect  under  the  great  beams  that 
used  to  hold  the  main-mast  in  its  place  ;  but  half  of  my  floor  is 
raised  nine  inches,  and  on  that  part  I  cannot  stand  at  all.  The 
whole  area  is  about  six  feet  square  ;  and  on  the  lower  part  I  have 
a  promenade  of  two  steps  {gradus),  making  one  step  {passus). 
When  I  entered,  the  cavern  had,  for  furniture,  one  wooden  stool. 
"  Here's  your  place,"  said  the  ma*e.  '^ery  well,"  quoth  I,  sitting 
down  upon  the  stool  and,  stretching  out  my  feet  to  the  comers  of 
my  apartment.  So  the  mate  and  I  looked  at  one  another  for  a 
minute.  "  I  suppose,"  suggested  I,  "  that  I  can  have  my  portman- 
teau here  ?  "  He  did  not  know  yet,  but  would  ask.  He  went 
away,  and  presently  my  portmanteau  was  sent  to  me,  and  a 
message  with  it,  that  if  I  wished  to  walk  on  deck  or  on  the  break- 
water alongside,  I  might  do  so.  Very  glad  to  avail  myself  of  the 
offer,  as  my  dog  house  was  intolerably  close,  I  went  up,  and  had 
a  walk  on  the  pier.  Soon  the  "  gangs"  of  prisoners  began  to 
come  in  from  the  works,  and  it  was  intimated  to  me  that  I  had 
better  retire.  A  hammock  was  then  brought  into  my  dog-hutch  ; 
and  in  order  to  make  room  for  it,  they  had  to  swing  it  diagonally. 
A  cup  of  milkless  tea  and  a  lump  of  bread  were  then  brought  me  ; 
and  when  I  had  despatched  these,  a  piece  of  candle  was  left  upon 
a  narrow  board  or  shelf  projecting  from  the  wall,  and  my  door 
was  locked.  The  light  of  the  candle  showed  me  a  great  many 
big  brown  cockroaches,  nearly  two  inches  long,  rimning  with 
incredible  speed  over  the  walls  and  floor,  the  sight  of  which 
almost  turned  me  sick.  I  sat  down  upon  my  bench,  and  dehber- 
ately  reviewed  my  position.  They  had  not  taken  my  books  from 
me,  nor  my  portmanteau.  They  had  not  even  searched  it,  or 
me  ;  nor  taken  this  scribbling-book  away,  nor  put  me  in  com- 
pany with  the  convicts.  This  is  all  good  ;  but  to-morrow  may 
show  me  more.  And  what  is  the  worst  it  can  show  me  ?  Why,  to 
be  arrayed  in  a  linen  blouse  and  trousers,  with  my  name  and 
number,  and  the  queen's  arrow  stamped  thereon,  and  to  be 
marched  to  the  quarries  with  pick-axe  or  crow-bar  in  my  hand. 
Very  well ;  my  health  now,  I  thank  God,  is  good ;  I  have  hands, 
like  other  men.  I  am  covered  with  my  own  skin,  and  stand  upon 
my  own  feet,  being  a  plantigrade  mammal,  and  also,  happily. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  41 

rather  pachydermatous.  Let  to-morrow  come,  then.  As  for  my 
dog-hutch,  the  mate  muttered  something,  before  Jie  left  me,  about 
another  and  better  place  bemg  made  ready  for  me  in  a  few  days. 
And  for  these  huge  brown  beasts  crawUng  here,  I  presume  they 
don't  bite ;  other  people  sleep  amongst  them,  and  why  not  I  ? 
A  bath  in  the  morning,  off  the  pier,  will  wash  the  sordes  of  ths. 
dog-hutch  from  about  me. 

Here  goes,  then,  for  my  first  swing  in  a  hammock — and  I  feel 
myself  a  freer  man  to-night  than  any  Irishman  living  at  large, 
tranquilly  in  his  native  land,  making  believe  that  he  fancies 
himself  a  respectable  member  of  society. 

22nd. — ^Bathed  luxuriously  in  the  sea ;  though  I  had  to  rise  at 
half-past  four  that  my  bath  might  be  over  before  the  gangs  turned 
out  to  work.  Walked  about  a  good  deal  on  deck,  which  is 
pleasanter  than  the  breakwater,  as  it  is  sheltered  from  the  sun, 
though  open  to  the  air  on  both  sides.  It  commands  a  view  of  the 
dock,  the  shipping,  barracks,  and  batteries  at  one  side,  and  at  the 
other  the  wide  anchorage  and,  "  Grassy  Bay,"  with  a  great 
number  of  the  islands  beyond.  They  are  all  of  the  same  height, 
garniture,  and  aspect,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  I  think  Ber- 
muda is  but  young ;  it  has  pushed  its  hillocks  \ip  so  high,  and 
will  imdoubtedly  grow  bigger  and  better  as  it  grows  older.  Plainly 
these  rocks  were  part  of  the  sea-bed  not  long  ago ;  and  they  seem 
to  me  exactly  like  the  land  that  is  forming  itself,  saith  Lyell, 
round  the  head  of  the  Adriatic — the  river  sands,  in  short,  and 
sea-sands,  so  soon  as  they  are  deposited,  glued  together,  along 
with  shells,  pebbles,  and  the  hke,  by  a  hard  hme-cement — and 
so,  gradually,  by  the  help  of  nether  fires,  rising  and  becoming 
dry  land.  Bermuda,  I  see,  is  all  made  of  the  very  same  shelly 
concrete  ;  and,  without  doubt,  was  heaved  up  to  its  present 
height  in  some  volcanic  paroxysm  of  the  imeasy  West  Indian 
regions.  And  some  future  game  of  the  pla5^ful  earthquakes  may 
give  these  islands  a  fresh  impulse,  and  raise  a  peak  or  two  into 
the  clouds,  to  win  some  drops  of  gracious  moisture  there,  and 
send  them  down  in  rills  of  hving  water.  Then  will  Bermudians 
hear,  for  the  first  time,  the  murmur  of  a  nmning  brook,  and  see 
a  miraculous  "  fountain  of  black, water  "  gushing  from  the  heart 
of  their  arid  hills  :  their  tiny  valleys  will  clothe  themselves  in  a 
robe  of  daintier  green,,  and  the  development  of  the  country  will 


42  JAIL  JOURNAL 

be  as  good  as  perfect.  So,  for  aught  I  know  to  the  contrary, 
your  islands  and  continents  are  bom  and  bred. 

I  observe  to-day  that  great  care  is  taken  to  keep  me  from  all 
communication  with  the  prisoners,  to  my  very  great  contentment. 
The  half-deck,  where  my  dog-house  is,  seems  to  be  reserved  for  the 
cabins  and  pantries  of  the  mates,  the  surgeon  and  steward,  and 
has  no  communication  below  with  the  fore  part  of  the  ship. 
Several  prisoners  are  kept  here  in  the  capacity  of  servants,  and 
one  of  them  is  assigned  to  attend  upon  me.  For  so  far  I  have 
not  been  interfered  with  in  any  way  as  to  my  disposal  of  my  time, 
and  read  or  walk,  just  as  it  suits  me  ;  only  when  the  prisoners  are 
coming  in  for  their  meals,  and  while  they  are  on  board,  I  am 
expected  to  seclude  myself.  I  do  whatever  I  am  bidden,  at  once 
and  without  remark,  which  seems  to  surprise  my  keepers  a  little. 
They  did  not  expect  me  to  be  so  quiet ;  and  ascribing  my  conduct 
in  Ireland,  of  course,  to  mere  turbulence  of  disposition,  and 
general  insubordination  of  character,  the  commander  has  evi- 
dently some  distrust  of  my  extreme  passiveness  and  submissive- 
ness — he  thinks  it  is  all  my  deepness. 

23f<f. — As  I  sauntered  to-day  on  the  quarter-deck,  with  a  book 
in  my  hand,  two  officers  of  the  Scourge  came  to  visit  me.  They 
had  to  deliver  in  their  names  and  quality  first,  to  be  written  down 
in  a  book  ;  for  I  am  given  to  understand  that  none  but  officers  of 
the  navy  or  arm^  are  to  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  visiting  me. 
In  that  case,  I  shall  have  but  Uttle  company,  as  my  acquaintances 
in  the  United  Service  are  few. 

I  was  well  pleased  to  see,  even  for  a  short  time,  the  faces  of 
unhulked  people. 

2^th. — Sunday. — Service  on  deck :  the  prisoners,  all  in  clean 
frocks  and  trousers,  arranged  on  forms  over  the  deck  forward  ;  the 
guards  and  mates  on  the  quarter-deck,  amongst  whom  I  had  a  seat 
apart.  I  attended  service  for  a  little  variety  ;  also  to  see  what 
kind  of  chaplain  we  have.  After  service  the  chaplain  came  to  me  : 
he  politely  offered  to  lend  me  books,  and  even  to  procure  me  books 
from  others.  I  rather  Uke  the  man  :  he  did  not  cant,  as  so  many 
of  those  persons  do,  but  seemed  really  desirous  of  serving  me,  so 
far  as  the  rules  would  allow  hipi.     He  is  a  Scotchman. 

26th. — I  have  been  installed  in  my  new  cabin,  or  cell ;  it  is  five 
feet  wide,  six  feet  high,  and  fourteen  feet  long — has  a  table,  a 


y 


JAIL  JOURNAL  43 

chair,  a  basin  stand,  but,  above  all,  has  a  window,  that  is,  a 
port-hole,  two  feet  and  a  half  square,  which,  though  heavily 
barred  and  cross-barred,  gives  plenty  of  light  and  air,  as  there  is 
a  glass  lattice  which  opens  and  shuts.  There  are  also  two 
shelves  for  books,  and  the  place  is  perfectly  clean.  This  is  a 
great  improvement  upon  the  dog-house. 

I  have  observed  that  all  the  guards  and  officers  of  the  ship,  all 
the  servants,  and  all  the  persons  who  remain  about  the  place  by 
day,  employed  as  boatmen  and  otherwise,  are  every  nian  of  them 
English.  Was  told  by  [must  write  no  names  here]  that  before  I 
left  the  Scourge,  all  the  Irish  in  this  hulk,  to  the  number  of  80  or 
90,  had  been  removed  to  another,  and  their  places  filled  up  with 
Englishmen  and  Scotchmen. 

The  fools  are  actually  afraid  that  I  will  stir  patriotic  mutinies 
here. 

29/A. — ^The  commander  came  to  me  to-day,  to  inform  me  that 
I  am  to  be  removed  to  the  hospital-ship.  "  Hospital-ship !  why,  I 
I  am  quite  well." — "  An  order,"  said  he,  "  has  come  from  the 
Governor :  you  are  to  be  removed  in  a  boat  this  ^temoon." 
Shortly  after,  the  medical  officer.  Dr.  Warner,  came  in.  "  What's 
the  meaning,"  I  asked,  "  of  sending  me  to  an  hospital — I  am  not 
an  invalid  ?  "  No  matter,  he  said,  it  would  be  a  change  greatly 
for  the  better,  as  regarded  my  comfort.  He  added  that  he  under- 
stood the  reason  of  the  order  to  be  a  report  made  by  the  surgeon 
of  the  Scourge  (I  forgot  to  record  in  its  proper  place,  that  I  had 
on  the  voyage  a  rather  severe  fit  of  asthma,  which  the  surgeon 
thought  it  his  duty  to  certify  to  the  medical  superintendent* 
here).  Accordingly,  I  have  been  removed ;  and  but  that  I 
disUke  being  treated  as  an  hospital  patient,  the  change  is  certainly 
for  the  better.  The  Tenedos,  which  is  used  as  an  hospital,  is  a 
larger,  newer,  and  cleaner  ship  than  the  Dromedary,  my  first 
abode  :  and  she  is  moored  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  land, 
in  a  most  beautiful  bay,  or  basin,  formed  by  well-wooded  islands, 
and  far  out  of  sight  of  the  prison-hulks  and  the  batteries.  My  cabin 
is  a  neat  room,  with  two  windows,  and  without  any  bars  at  all. 
The  commzmder  of  this  ship  is  Dr.  Hall,  a  kindly  old  gentleman, 
who  has  been  a  good  deal  in  Ireland,  and  knows  several  persons 
that  I  also  know.  He  seems  to  imagine  that  I  am  very  "  un- 
happy," and  am  always  making  vigorous  efforts  to  conceal  the 


44  jAiL  JOURNAL 

circumstance  ;  he  never  was  more  mistaken  in  his  life — however, 
he  is  well-disposed  to  make  me  as  happy  as  he  can.  If  an  English- 
man wishes  to  be  kind  to  any  individual,  his  first  thought  is  to 
feed  him  well :  the  foundation  of  all  British  happiness  is  victual ; 
therefore,  the  steward  has  had  special  orders  about  my  table. 
In  truth,  I  do  begin  to  set  more  store  by  that  matter  of  dining 
than  I  ever  thought  I  should.  Tender  Naso,  in  his  captivity, 
hated  the  hour  of  dinner ;  or  poetic^  pretends  he  did.  I  do  not 
believe  him  ;  when  one  is  cut  off  from  all  his  ordinary  occupation 
and  environment,  dinner  is  the  great  event  of  his  day.  If  they 
keep  me  here  many  months,  living  all  alone,  and  supply  me  with 
sapid  viands,  I  shudder  to  think  what  an  overwhelming  moment 
dinner-time  may  become  to  me  :  how  I  will  tear  my  victuals 
hke  a  wild  beast,  gorge  them  in  my  soUtary  cavern,  and  then  he 
down  to  doze  until  next  feeding-time.     Infandum  ! 

Sometimes  I  put  myself  to  the  question  about  it — How  can  I 
eat  thus  heartily  of  British  convict  rations  ? — sleep  thus  calmly 
on  a  felon's  iron  bed  ? — receive  in  gracious- wise  the  courtesies  of 
Carthaginian  gaolers,  looking  my  black  destiny  so  placidly  in  the 
face  ?  By  heaven  !  it  cannot  be  but  I  am  pigeon-hvered,  and  lack 
gall  to  make  oppression  bitter.  Go  to — I  will  lash  myself  into 
suitable  rage.  But  it  will  not  do.  The  next  time  old  Dr.  Hall 
comes  in,  with  his  grey  hairs  and  good  old  weather-beaten  counte- 
nance, and  begins  to  talk,  my  armour  of  sullen  pride  will  fall  to 
pieces  :  the  human  heart  that,  I  suppose,  is  in  me  will  know  its 
brother,  and  I  will  find  myself  quietly  conversing  with  that  old 
man,  as  friend  with  friend. 

July  /\th. — The  mail  steamer  from  the  West  Indies  has  just 
arrived,  on  her  way  to  England  ;  so  I  have  written  to  my  wife, 
giving  a  long  account  of  my  voyage,  and  my  way  of  Ufe  here. 
Cannot  have  her  answer,  at  soonest,  before  the  19th  of  August. 

^h — Sunday. — Service  on  deck  as  usual.  The  chaplain,  who 
came  down  to  my  cabin  after  service,  tells  me  he  performs  service 
at  all  the  hulks  and  the  hospital  too.  He  darts  about  in  a  fast- 
sailing  boat ;  rattles  over  our  beautiful  liturgy  four  times,  preaches 
either  twice  or  three  times,  giving  himself  about  half  an  hour  to 
take  breath  and  dinner,  and  steers  his  bark  homeward  in  the  even- 
ing. The  chaplain  had  left  me  about  half  an  hour,  and  I  was 
sitting  at  an  open  window  reading  Livy  and  drinking  grog. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  45 

beginning,  indeed,  to  feel  myself  at  home  in  the  Tenedos — for  I 
have  been  ten  days  on  board — when  Dr.  Hall  entered  my  cabin 
in  a  violent  hurry,  accompanied  by  a  negro  boatman.  "  An 
order  to  remove  you,"  he  said,  "  directly." — "  Where  now,  sir  ?  " 
I  asked.  "  Oh !  back  to  the  Dromedary.  The  commander  of  the 
Dromedary  has  come  in  his  own  boat,  bringing  the  governor's 
order  ;  and  this  man  will  carry  your  portmanteau  upon  deck.  I 
am  very  sorry,"  he  continued,  "and  cannot  guess  the  reason, 
but  you  must  go."  I  had  by  this  time  thrust  my  books  and 
everything  belonging  to  me  into  my  box  ;  and  in  five  minutes 
more  I  was  on  my  way  back  to  Ireland  Island. 

We  passed  close  by  a  piece  of  ground  on  this  island  neatly  laid 
out  as  a  graveyard.  The  commander,  seeing  me  looking  at  it, 
informed  me  that  it  was  the  convict  cemetery  ;  for  convicts,  when 
they  die,  are  not  suffered  to  repose  in  church-yards  by  the  side  of 
corpses  that  take  their  ease  in  consecrated  ground.  I  looked  now 
still  more  curiously  at  the  cemetery,  and  cannot  say  that  I  Uked 
it.  I  have  a  respect  for  my  own  body,  and  wish  that  it  may 
mingle  with  earth,  if  not  in  consecrated  ground,  at  least  not  in 
unblessed  company.  Yet  it  is  far  from  improbable  that  in  this 
small  enclosure  between  the  sea  and  the  cedars  my  bones  will 
rest  at  last.  The  commander  tells  me  there  is,  at  some  seasons, 
wonderful  mortality  on  board  these  hulks ;  that  in  the  first 
summer  of  their  abode  here,  many  are  carried  off  by  dysentery  ; 
and  that  sometimes  they  perish  by  hundreds  in  the  West  Indian 
yellow  fever.  I  kept  gazing  at  the  cemetery  until  a  point  of 
land  hid  it  from  my  sight,  and  as  I  turned  my  head  away,  I 
shivered. 

Half  an  hour's  sailing  brought  me  to  my  cell  on  board  the 
Dromedary.  Asked  the  commander  if  he  knew  the  meaning  of 
this  last  movement,  but  he  professed  to  know  nothing,  except 
that  a  special  express  from  Hahfax  (where  the  admiral  is  now) 
had  arrived  this  morning  to  the  Governor. 

Heard,  however,  a  full  explanation  of  it  from  [Anonymous]. 
When  the  Irish  in  New  York  heard  of  my  conviction,  and 
deportation  they  made  some  demonstrations ;  and  even 
threatened  (words  being  cheap)  to  equip  a  vessel,  or  for  that 
matter,  I  beheve,  a  squadron,  to  rescue  me.  I  learn  further, 
that  the  Government  surveying-steamer  is  forthwith  to  have 
her  bulwarks  pierced  for  guns,  and  to  be  armed  as  heavily  as 


46  JAIL  JOURNAL 

she  can  bear  ;  and  other  formidable  precautions  are  to  be 
taken.  In  the  meantime,  the  retired  bay  where  the  hospital- 
ship  lies  is  not  judged  so  secure  a  residence  for  me  as  this  httle 
well-grated  cell,  under  the  muzzles  of  the  battery  guns. 

loth. — Everybody  looks  mysteriously  at  me  to-day  when  I  go 
up  to  walk  on  deck.  They  think  they  have  got  a  troublesome 
shipmate  on  board  ;  and  the  authorities  look  very  determined. 
But  I  take  notice  of  nothing,  address  nobody,  am  addressed  by 
nobody,  and  walk  about  as  before  without  any  interference. 
Martial  preparations  are  observable  ;  workmen  busy  cutting 
ports  in  the  steamer  right  opposite  my  window :  further  off, 
along  the  top  of  the  fortifications,  a  Une  of  tents  pitched,  where, 
as  I  hear,  the  troops  are  to  sleep  at  night  for  a  time.  All  this 
is  a  little  amusing  to  me. 

i^th. — Making  myself  at  home  in  my  den  here,  so  far  as  circum- 
stances will  admit.  A  cot,  instead  of  a  hammock,  has  been 
provided  for  me,  and  Dr.  Hall  has  sent  two  or  three  other  small 
matters  of  convenience  ;  also,  a  good-natured  man,  named  Black, 
who  tells  me  he  is  commander  of  the  Medway,  the  laigest  of 
these  hulks,  has  lent  me  some  books,  and  told  me  (taking  care, 
however,  to  speak  to  me  in  presence  of  the  "  first  mate  ")  that  he 
has  a  great  quantity  of  miscellaneous  material  in  the  nature  of 
books,  which  he  will  be  happy  to  lend  me  from  time  to  time. 

With  all  these  apphances,  both  for  bodily  health  and  mental 
dissipation,  with  liberty  to  write  for,  and  receive  any  books  I 
please  from  home  (except  political  periodicals),  with  sufficient 
space  to  exercise  in  the  fresh  sea-air,  with  abundance  of  good 
food,  and  a  constant  supply  of  fresh  water,  and  paper,  and  pens  ; 
with  all  these  furtherances,  I  have  been  considering  whether  it 
would  be  possible  to  live  here  for  some  indefinite  number  of  years, 
or  even  for  the  whole  fourteen,  should  nothing  happen  to  cut  them 
short.  And  why  not  ?  Major  Bemardi  lived  forty  years  in  New- 
gate ;  but  then  he  had  his  wife  and  family  always  with  him  ;  and, 
except  for  the  mere  accident  of  locomotion,  was  as  much  in  the 
world  as  anybody  outside.  The  Earl  of  Northumberland  lived 
fifteen  years  in  the  Tower  in  the  time  of  James  the  First ;  but , 
then  he  had  leave  to  correspond  with  all  the  learned  men  of 
Europe  about  astronomy  ;  had  the  White  Tower,  I  suppose,  for 
an  observatory  j  no  restrictions  as  to  commimkating  with  whom 


JAIL  JOURNAL  47 

he  pleased ;  and,  I  daresay,  ever5rthing  handsome  about  him. 
James  the  First  of  Scotland,  indeed,  was  imprisoned  eighteen  or 
twenty  years  in  Windsor  Castle  ;  but,  to  be  sure,  he  had  plenty 
of  society,  and  a  duchess  to  make  love  to,  which  would  make  a 
great  difference.  None  of  these  cases  is  like  mine.  The  Man  in 
the  Iron  Mask  is  more  to  the  purpose  :  he  wore  away  all  his 
weary  days  in  close  confinement.  Delatude,  also,  the  Bastile 
prisoner,  ought  to  encourage  me  ;  he  Uved  thirty-seven  years  in 
most  rigorous  imprisonment,  £Uid  emerged  (see  the  Duchess 
D'Abrantes)  a  fine  hale  old  gentleman  at  last.  I  forget  how  long 
Tasso  was  kept  in  the  mad-house  ;  but  Silvio  PeUico  was  ten 
years  in  the  Austrian  dungeons.  Bonnivard  was  six  years  in 
Chillon,  a  most  uncomfortable  place  ;  and  Raleigh  thirteen  years 
in  the  Tower  of  London.  Who  else  ?  Balue,  the  founder  of  the 
great  Evreux  Cathedral,  was  kept  by  Louis  XL  twelve  years  in 
a  loathsome  den  ;  and  I  find,  from  the  Book  of  Kings,  that 
Jehoiachim,  King  of  Judah,  lay  in  a  Babylonian  dungeon  thirty- 
seven  years.  I  wish  I  had  books  and  materials  here  to  collect  a 
hand-book  of  prison  biography,  for  encouragement  to  myself  if 
I  should  hereafter  chance  to  need  it.  Fourteen  years  are  a  long 
time  ;  yet  they  will  assuredly  pass.  I  have  nothing  to  do  but 
keep  myself  alive  and  wait. 

Suicide  I  have  duly  considered  and  perpended,  and  deliberately 
decided  against,  for  reasons  which  I  will  here  set  down  in  order, 
so  that  I  may  have  them  to  refer  to,  if  that  method  of  solution 
become  a  question  with  me  hereafter  ;  for,  alas  !  I  know  that  in 
fourteen  years  will  be  many  a  dreary  day,  many  a  weary  night ; 
and  sickness  and  deadly  tcedium  will  fall  heavily  down  upon  my 
soul ;  and  often  the  far-off  end  of  my  days  of  sorrow  will  be  clean 
out  of  my  sight  for  the  thick  clouds  that  will  seem  closing  around 
me,  veiUng  all  my  horizon  in  the  blackness  of  darkness.  Ah  !  long 
years  in  a  lonely  dungeon  are  no  light  thing  to  the  stoutest  heart 
— not  to  be  laughed  at  by  any  means  ;  not  to  be  turned  back  or 
got  rid  of,  or  made  to  pass  merrily  as  marriage-bells  by  any  system 
of  jesting,  or  morahsing,  or  building  up  of  sentences,  philosophic 
or  jocular,  for  one's  private  edification  or  ghastly  solitary  laughter. 
And  the  way  of  escape  will  be  always  near  me  and  often  tempting  ; 
'tis  but  opening  a  door,  but  touching  a  spring,  and  the  fardel  of 
my  Ufe  is  cast  down,  and  the  black  bars  vanish  from  between  me 


48  JAIL  JOURNAL 

and  yonder  setting  sun.    Yet  will  I  not  lay  hand"  upon  my  own 
life,  for  the  reasons  here  following  : — 

^^  First.  Because  I  should,  in  such  case,  be  a  conspirator  with 
Baron  Lefroy,  the  Sheriff  of  DubUn,  and  the  Ministers  of  Eng- 
land, against  my  own  name  and  fame.  Their  parliament  and 
their  sheriff  may  nickname  me  "  felon,"  but  if  I,  in  despair, 
thereupon  rush  to  my  death,  I  will  own  myself  a  felon,  indeed, 
and  send  my  children  scandalised  to  their  graves,  as  the  children 
of  a  self-convicted  criminal  and  despdring  suicide. 

Second.  Because,  having  engaged  in  this  undertaking  with  full 
knowledge  that  this  imprisonment  might,  and  probably  would  be, 
the  end  of  it  for  me,  suicide  now  would  be  a  mean  and  cowardly 
confession  that  the  consequence  of  my  own  acts,  I  find  upon 
trial,  to  be  more  than  I  can  bear. 

Third.  Because,  whereas  I  am  now  employed  in  carrying  for- 
ward that  undertaking,  I  trust  to  a  happy  issue,  if  I  kill  myself, 
I  not  only  desist  from  the  whole  enterprise,  but,  so  far  as  in  me 
lies,  undo  all  I  have  done.  Sometimes  to  suffer  manfully  is  the 
best  thing  man  can  do — passiveness  may  happen  to  be  the  most 
effectual  action  ;  and  I  do  firmly  believe  that  (unless  my  whole 
life  has  been  one  gross  mistake  from  the  first)  I  am  this  moment, 
though  three  thousand  miles  off,  active  in  Ireland — ^not  passive 
in  Bermuda.  The  manner  of  my  sham  trial,  the  eager,  fierce 
haste  of  the  enemy  to  gag  and  ruin  me,  the  open  war  waged 
against  all  constitutional  and  legal  right  in  Ireland — all  this  will 
(or  else  the  very  devil  is  in  them)  sting  the  apathetic,  shame  the 
"  constitutional,"  and,  above  all,  rouse  the  young  to  a  pitch  of 
wrathful  disaffection  that  cannot  but  come  to  good.  While  I 
am  known  to  be  living  in  vile  sinks  of  felony — and  through 
such  means — especially  if  other  and  better  men  follow  through 
the  same  means,  the  mind  of  the  young  Irish  generation  will 
not  easily  settle  down  and  acquiesce  in  the  sway  of  the  foreign 
enemy.  But  if  I  die.  I,  for  one,  will  soon  be  forgotten.  There 
will  be  one  stimulus  the  less  to  Ireland's  friends — one  difficulty 
the  less  to  her  foes.  And  if  I  die  by  my  own  hand,  I  will  be 
worse  than  forgotten — I  will  have  confessed  that  England's 
brute  power  is  resistless,  and  therefore  righteous — at  any  ratei 
that  I  for  my  part,  am  a  beaten  man.  It  will  be  my  last  spisech 
and  dying  declaration,  imploring  my  countr5anen  to  avoid  the 


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JAIL  JOURNAL  49 

terrible  fangs  of  British  law — my  pupils  will  hang  their  heads  for 
shame ;  and,  instead  of  an  example,  I  shall  have  become  a  warning. 

Fourth.  Because  my  flesh  creeps  at  the  thought  of  the  convict 
cemetery. 

Fifth,  Because  I  have  much  to  live  for — many  duties  but  half- 
discharged  or  wholly  neglected — young  children  brought  into  the 
world,  and  allowed  to  grow  up  hitherto,  hke  an  unweeded  garden. 
For  so  busy  has  my  life  been  that  I  never  yet  got  much  further 
than  intending  to  begin  doing  my  domestic  duties.  But  if  it  be 
the  will  of  Providence  to  draw  me  alive  out  of  this  pit,  I  hope 
to  do  my  children  some  good  yet  before  I  die. 

Sixth.  Because  *  *  *  ♦  * 

For  these  six  reasons  I  mean  to  live,  and  not  die.  It  may  be 
that  two  years,  five  years,  or  seven  years,  may  bring  me  freedom  ; 
for  the  time  is«like  to  be  eventful,  and  Carthaginian  policy  is 
surprisingly  deep  and  inscrutable  ;  but,  at  any  rate,  I  will  Uve 
on,  and  see  it  out,  and  even  economise  my  health  and  strength, 
that  I  may  not  be  turned  out  at  forty-six  years  of  age  a  decrepit 
old  man,  but  may  have  some  stamina  and  spirit  left  to  begin 
the  world  upon  over  again. 

My  six  reasons  so  set  out  in  black-on-white,  I  find  to  be  alto- 
gether sufficient.  And  well  they  are  so  ;  for  the  cool  determina- 
tion to  maintain  a  mere  animal  or  vegetable  hfe  in  an  ignominious 
den  like  this  has  need  of  good  reasons  to  justify  it.  Suicide  is  not 
in  itself  a  bad  act,  though  in  any  given  case  it  may  be  a  very 
dark  crime  indeed.  Pliny's  sad  saying — that  the  choicest 
blessing  of  this  life  is  the  power  to  end  it — may  not  be  universally 
true ;  yet  that  same  is  a  blessing ;  and  if  there  be  a  settled 
desire  of  death,  and  no  adequate  reasons  for  living — that  is,  if  it 
be  not  your  clear  duty  to  Uve,  then  it  is  your  clear  right  to  die. 
Only  let  every  man  beware  of  mistakes  in  forming  a  judgment  on 
the  point :  let  him  do  nothing  in  haste,  or  out  of  impatience, 
spite,  or  passion  :  let  him  give  himself  a  fair  trial — a  rare  thing 
under  the  sun — and  if  he  find,  on  impartial  inquest,  that  the 
burden  of  his  hfe  is  heavier  than  he  can  bear,  and  that  his  death, 
or  manner  of  his  death,  will  injure  no  one — then  let  him  calmly, 
and  in  all  good  humour,  in  no  spirit  of  impious  defiance  of  heaven, 
or  stupid  scorn  of  mankind — let  him,  like  good  old  Gloster, 
Shake  patiently  his  ipreat  afiUct;oA  ofi^ 

■   1 


50  JAIl  JOURNAL 

But,  having  gone  so  far  into  thig  exhilarating  tractate  of  self- 
murder,  let  me  see  if  I  can  get  to  the  root  of  the  matter.  There 
ii»  an  axiom  of  lawyers  in  all  lands — and  founded  surely  on  sound 
ethics — that  you  may  do  what  you  will  with  your  own,  but  so  as 
not  to  hurt  your  neighbour.  And  what  can  be  my  own,  if  my 
own  body  be  not  ?  I  will  move  it  whither  I  please  (unless  some^ 
body  steals  it  from  me  and  locks  it  up^ — as  may  sometimes  happen) 
— or  if  I  choose,  I  will  keep  it  at  rest,  feed  or  physic  it,  pamper  or 
starve  it,  Or,  if  I  like,  riddle  it  with  bullets,  cr  drown  it  in  the  sea, 
^-but  always  provided  nobody  else  is  hurt  by  these  proceedings. 
Locomotion,  in  like  manner,  is  not  in  itself  a  crime — no  more 
than  suicide  ;  yet  one  has  not  a  right  to  exercise  locomotive 
power  by  bolting  from  his  place  of  abode,  leaving  his  rent  unpaid 
and  his  children  starving. 

It  seems,  then,  that  no  man  ought  to  leave  engagements 
imdischarged,  or  duties  that  he  has  implicitly  or  explicitly 
contracted  to  do,  undone.  Is  this  the  key  that  opens  the  whole 
mystery  ? 

Hardly  the  whole.  I  have  heard  people  say,  indeed,  that  in  no 
case  can  one  cast  away  life  without  deserting  duty ;  for  every 
man  being  bom  into  a  world  of  creatures  hke  himself,  all  fitted 
for  social  life,  and  in  need  of  one  another's  help,  and  being  en- 
dowed with  faculties,  wants,  and  sympathies  accordingly — ^has 
claims  (so  they  say)  on  all  other  men,  and  must  reciprocally 
admit  their  claims  on  him — is  bound,  in  short,  to  exercise  those 
faculties,  for  the  good  of  himself  and  others,  to  supply  those  wants 
and  develop  those  sympathies  and  affections,  and  so  become  and 
continue,  nolens  volens,  a  good  and  useful  memjber  of  society, 
until  it  shall  please  God  Who  made  him  to  end  his  task.  All  this 
I  deny.  Nobody  is  obliged  to  "  benefit  his  species  "  ;  the  notion 
of  a  man  being  able  to  benefit  his  species,  or  bound  to  do  it,  if 
able,  is  a  mere  modem  humbug — not  more,  as  I  calculate,  than 
ninety  or  a  hundred  years  old.  Our  duties  to  "  society,"  to  "  man- 
kind," and  the  like,  begin  and  end  with  our  personal  engage- 
ments, express  or  implicit :  if  you  violate  none  of  these,  you  may 
go  about  your  business  without  leave  asked  of  mankind  or  society  : 
so  far  as  they  are  concerned  you  are  clear.  In  that  case  you  need 
not  search  for  reasons  to  justify  your  retreat  ;  one's  own  whim  is 
reason  enough ;   if  you  are  of  a  bihous  habit,  and  melancholy 


/ 


ttffrmifrfmi^irm;^l^'iK  >  •  ««■«.« 't5*';^f«w,•^,l|l-»f  wJww-s-THj^T''  swiw, ■^w;?'.':.  T*r.  >>*r '•.<:'^ 


/^/L  JOURNAL  51 

temperament,  and  fancy  that  you  are  tired  seeing  the  sun  rise 
every  day,  I  know  no  cause  why  you  should  not  thrust  a  sharp 
instrument  into  your  dyspeptic  stomach  and  let  your  disagreeable 
soul  rush  forth  into  the  air  ;  or,  say  that  you  love  a  woman  who 
despises  you,  and  being  but  young,  fancy  that  you  have  done 
with  life,  and  that  your  heart  is  broken,  or  "  blighted  " — or,  if 
you  like  it  better,  "  crushed  " — and  have  no  father  or  mother, 
brothers  or  sisters  to  be  grieved,  shocked  or  disgraced  by  you — 
why,  then,  paying  first  all  your  bills,  yea,  the  very  tailor's,  go 
by  all  means  and  take  your  lover's  leap.  Mankind  will  go  on 
without  you  ;  and  for  the  lady,  whose  cruel  heart  you  think  to 
wring,  she  will  be  much  pleased  and  flattered  :  your  sad  fate  will 
have  thrown  a  shade  of  romantic  interest  around  her,  and  she 
will  look  more  charming  in  it  than  ever.  Bless  your  innocent 
heart,  a  dozen  such  scalps  as  yours  at  her  war-belt  will  but 
heighten  her  rank  and  dignity  in  that  savage  tribe. 

Yet  this  simple  key,  one  may  affirm,  does  not  open  the  whole 
mystery  ;  nor  any  key  yet  forged.  I  will  only  suggest,  that  there 
may  be  other  considerations  worthy  a  man's  thoughts  (before  he 
blows  his  brains  out)  besides  his  bare  duties,  debts  to  society,  or 
engagements  with  other  men,  women,  and  children.  Finding 
yourself  here,  a  living  man,  may  it  not  be  worth  your  while  (for 
remember  it  may  be  the  only  opportunity  you  will  have  for  many 
an  aeon)  to  stay  and  see  what  this  life  is,  and  what  it  is  good  for 
— to  try  what  capacities  of  action  and  passion  may  be  in  this 
manhood  wherewith  you  are  thus  mysteriously  invested — how  far 
it  can  look  before  and  after — whether  there  be  not  matters  worth 
seeing,  doing,  knowing,  suffering  even — consider,  consider 
whether  there  may  not  be — I  say  not  debts  and  duties — but 
privileges  and  high  prerogatives  vested  in  the  very  life  and  soul 
you  are  about  to  scatter  to  the  elements,  which  will  enable  and 
entitle  you,  even  you,  by  faithful  manly  action,  to  lift  up  that 
despised  human  nature  of  yours,  not  only  out  of  the  Slough  of 
Despond,  where  it  now  Ues  weltering,  but  above  the  empyrean 
and  the  stars — yea,  powers  whereby  you  may  illumine  what  is 
^ark  in  you,  what  is  low  raise  and  exalt,  and  so — 

By  due  steps  aspire 
To  lay  your  just  hands  on  the  golden  key 
That  opes  the  palace  of  ftpmity. 


-^ 


52  JAIL  JOURNAL 


We  know  what  we  are,  but  not  what  we  shall  be ;  they  say  the 
owl  was  a  baker's  naughty  daughter  ;  and  I  do  verily  beheve  that 
on  the  extent  to  which  we  purify  and  ennoble  our  own  nature  in 
life  will  depend  the  rank  to  be  assigned  each  of  us  in  the  scale  of 
God's  creatures  at  death.  Therefore,  on  the  whole,  I  say  as  Con- 
vict Socrates  said :  av^puntov,  as  we  are  men,  let  us  be  men — as  the 
Christian  apostle  said,  "  Quit  you  Hke  men  " — what  is  needful  to 
be  endured,  endure  it ;  what  your  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it ; 
love,  hate,  work,  and  play,  not  envying,  not  oppressing, 
nor  brooking  oppression — above  all,  not  lying  (to  yourself 
or  others),  and  you  will  see  good  days  before  you  die  and 
after. 

I  am  far  from  saying  it  is  your  duty  to  remain  aUve  for  all  this 
— only  your  privilege.  You  are  not  obliged,  but  permitted  ;  and 
you  may  throw  away  the  privilege,  and  decline  the  trouble.  But 
beware,  lest  on  your  next  transmigration  you  find  yourself  look- 
ing out  through  the  eyes  of  a  baboon,  or  hearing  with  the  ears  of 
a  jackass. 

Reading  over  the  above  disquisition  two  hours  after  writing  it, 
I  find  it  consists  of  words  mainly,  or  even  echoes  of  words,  with 
shadows  and  ghosts  of  meanings.  Heaven  be  my  witness,  I  know 
httle  of  man's  Ufe  and  its  high  destinies  myself ;  and  am  often 
inclined  to  say  there  is  nothing  in  it.  All  is  vanity.  Yet  "  look 
to  the  end  of  life."  Who  can  say  all  is  vanity  till  he  has  tried  it 
out  ?  Thirty-three  years  have  I  walked  the  earth,  and  not  idly 
nor  with  my  eyes  intentionally  sealed.  I  have  lived,  and  I  have 
loved  ;  and,  up  to  the  present  date,  cannot  say  that  I  find  this 
world  to  be  any  great  matter.  But  then,  here  is  a  new  scene  of 
it  opening  upon  me  ;  the  hulks  may  teach  me  somewhat.  I  am 
resolute  to  wait  and  see. 

'2.0th. — A  month  in  Bermuda,  and  there  has  not  been  one 
shower  ;  but  a  deavy  dew  at  night  (which  it  seems  Prospero  was 
aware  of),  and  even  during  the  day,  while  a  t5n:annical  sun  is 
blazing  down  vertically  upon  this  arid  land,  there  is  a  surprising 
dampness  in  the  air,  so  that  salt  standing  in  an  uncovered  vessel 
upon  a  shelf  in  the  dry  ship,  soon  runs  to  water.  A  southerly 
wind  blows  the  whole  summer,  laden  always  with  water ;  and 
without  it  there  would  certainly  be  no  vegetation  at  Bermuda. 
As  it  is,  however,  vegetation  is  very  rich,  and  the  fruit  is  delicious. 


:w      A 


;«(M#«-^ 


JAIL  JOURNAL  5^ 

Good  people  have  sometimes  got  a  melon  or  pine-apple  smuggled 
in  to  me  by  methods  to  me  imknown. 

My  window  commands  a  view  of  the  whole  dock-yard  with  its 
buildings,  also  the  barrack  and  parade-ground.  The  42  nd  Regi- 
ment of  Highlanders  is  stationed  here,  and  just  before  sunset, 
every  evening,  they  muster  on  an  esplanade  right  opposite  to  me, 
and  march  up  to  their  barracks  with  bagpipes  playing  "  The 
Campbells  are  Coming,"  or  some  kindred  air.  But  upon  the  other 
side,  upon  the  breakwater,  which  is  also  in  part  visible  from  my 
window,  is  another  muster,  sad  to  see  :  many  himdreds  of  poor 
convicts  marched  in  gangs,  some  of  them  in  chains,  to  their  work, 
in  the  quarries,  or  the  new  government  buildings.  They  walk,  as 
I  fancy,  with  a  drooping  gait  and  carriage.  Their  eyes,  it  is 
said,  are  greatly  injured  by  the  glare  of  the  white  rocks,  and  many 
of  them  grow  "  moon-blind,"  as  they  call  it,  so  that  they  stumble 
over  stones  as  they  walk.  There  are  always  two  or  three  of  those 
belonging  to  this  ship  kept  in  irons  for  one  fault  or  another,  and 
the  clank  of  chains  is  seldom  out  of  my  ears.  Within  the  month, 
also,  several  of  them  have  been  savagely  flogged ;  the  other 
prisoners  are  all  mustered  to  see  this  exhibition  ;  and  though  I 
am  never  summoned  to  any  muster,  I  can  hear  in  my  cabin  every 
cut  of  the  sounding  lash,  and  the  shrieks  of  the  mangled  wretches. 
I  once  asked  the  attendant  who  brings  my  meals  what  fault  a 
man  had  committed  who  was  flogged  that  morning.  "  For  giving 
cheek,  sir,"  answered  the  man ;  which  means,  using  insolent 
language  ;  but  when  I  hear  the  officers  or  guards  speaking  to 
them  (as  when  walking  on  deck  I  often  do),  it  is  always  in  an 
imperious,  insolent  tone  and  manner,  even  in  giving  the  common- 
est order  ;  which  might  well  exasperate  sometimes  the  tamesi 
drudge.  No  wonder  the  poor  fellows  are  sometimes  provoked  to 
"  give  cheek."  Now,  I  am  sentenced  to  the  very  same  punish- 
ment with  these  convicts,  yet  here  have  I  my  "  cabin,"  my  book- 
shelves, the  attendance  of  a  servant,  wear  my  own  clothes,  go 
out  and  come  in  at  my  own  times,  am  spoken  to,  not  only  without 
haughtiness,  but  with  respect,  and  all  because  I  am  supposed  to 
be  (though  I  never  said  I  was)  a  gentleman.  See  here  the  spirit 
of  the  British  Constitution — a  most  poUte  Constitution  ! — a  most 
genteel  spirit !  See  of  what  fine  porcelain  clay  your  British 
gentleman  must  be  made,  when,  even  as  a  felon  (for  they  are 


54  JAIL  JOURNAL 

bound  to  pretend  that  they  consider  me  a  felon),  the  gentleman 
is  not  to  be  allowed  to  mix  with  the  swinish  multitude.  Your 
gentlemanly  convict,  even,  must  have  deference  and  accommoda- 
tions, and  attendance  and  Uterary  leisure  ;  but  in  the  hulk,  as 
elsewhere,  there  is  the  hard  word  and  the  hard  blow,  and  un- 
remitting, ill-requited  toil,  and  fetters  for  the  Umbs,  and  a  scourge 
for  the  back  of  the  poor. 

2is/. — Mr.  Hire,  the  deputy-superintendent,  came  on  board 
to-day,  and  handed  me  letters  from  home.  The  Governor,  too, 
had  very  courteously  sent  them  to  me  unopened ;  but  Mr.  Hire 
said  he  expected  that  if  anything  in  them  related  to  public  affairs 
I  would  give  them  up — which  of  course  I  promised — then  hurried 
down  to  my  den,  and  with  shaking  hands  broke  the  seals.  A 
long  letter  from  my  dearest  wife,  another  from  my  mother. 
Matters  had  gone  as  I  anticipated  with  my  affairs  in  Dublin :  the 
very  day  of  my  sentence  the  printing-offtce,  with  types,  paper,  and 
books  had  been  seized  by  the  police — and  then,  of  course,  agents 
and  others  who  owed  me  debts  would  not  venture  to  pay  them  ; 
because,  the  books  being  in  the  enemy's  hands,  if  Lord  Clardenon 
chose  it,  he  might  make  them  all  pay  over  again.  This  I  do  not 
think  likely  ;  but  in  the  meantime,  under  the  false  pretext  of  my 
"  conviction,"  the  scoundrel  robs  my  wife  and  children  The 
people  are  collecting  a  "  tribute  "  for  her,  which  is  humihating 
to  think  of — yet  what  can  be  done  ?  Besides,  this  payment  of 
money  in  open  sustainment  of  Irish  "  Felony  "  is  a  good  thing. 
Nothing  so  fully  interests  some  men  in  a  cause,  as  subscribing 
money  for  it.  My  brother  William  has  gone  to  New  York  at  my 
mother's  earnest  request  :  they  do  not  tell  me  why  ;  (I  warned 
them  not  to  give  me  any  poUtical  news,  which  would  only  cause 
the  letters  to  be  kept  from  me)  but  I  can  guess  that  the  "  Govern- 
ment "  are  proceeding  with  vigour. 


'.*■ 


CHAPTER   IV 

July  24/ A — On  board  the  "  Dromedary  "  Hulk. — Here  is  a  violent 
provocation  to  me  :  newspapers  have  arrived,  of  course,  by  the 
monthly  mail ;  I  even  see  them  passing  from  hand  to  hand 
amongst  the  guards  and  mates,  and  there  is  a  whole  month's 
history  of  Ireland  in  them,  continued  from  the  day  of  my  kid- 
napping, and  I  cannot  see  one  of  them.  Special  orders,  it  seems 
have  been  given  to  everybody  on  board,  imder  heavy  penalties, 
that  no  communications  are  to  be  had  with  me,  save  in  matters 
of  absolute  necessity.  The  very  servants  who  attend  about  the 
half-deck  seem  frightened  if  they  find  themselves  passing  near 
me  ;  and  everyone  in  the  place  seems  to  be  watching  everybody 
else.  I  learn  also,  that  before  I  was  brought  back  from  the 
hospital-ship  one  of  the  guards  of  the  Dromedary  was  discharged 
because  he  had  spoken  some  words  favourably  of  me  before 
another,  who  straight  reported  it.  He  was  an  Irishman,  you  may 
be  sure,  and  his  name  was  Demey.  Before  I  came  to  Bermuda, 
as  *  *  *  tells  me,  there  was  great  latitude  allowed  in  the  matter 
of  admitting  newspapers ;  in  fact,  the  prisoners  saw  the  papers 
regularly ;  but  stringent  regulations  have  now  been  made,  and 
soUtary  confinement,  irons  and  flogging  are  to  be  the  penalties 
of  introducing  the  contraband  article.  And  in  such  a  case  they 
are  all  spies  upon  one  another,  both  guards  and  prisoners.  This 
condition  is  hardly  human,  hardly  earthly.  The  devil  is  in  the 
place. 

But  why  all  this  care  and  suspicion  ?  How  could  my  receipt 
of  pubhc  news  injure  the  "  Government,"  seeing  I  can  send 
out  nothing,  except  through  the  hands  of  my  gaolers  ?  There 
may  be  reasons  for  it  unknown  to  me — statesmanship  is  pro- 
found. 

Aug.  4/A. — Received  to-day  a  large  trunk  from  home,  with 
some  clothes,  a  few  books,  and,  what  I  value  very  highly,  four 
exquisite  coloured  daguerreotypes  of  Gluckmann's  :  one  my  wife 
in  profile,  another  has  my  mother  and  wife  together  j   a  third, 

55 


56  M/i  fOUMAL 

John  Martin,  my  staunch  and  worthy  friend — ^by  this  time,  I 
suppose,  my  fellow-felon.  What  a  mild  and  benevolent-looking 
felon  !  The  Convict  Jesus  was  hardly  purer,  meeker,  truer,  more 
benignant  than  this  man  is.  The  fourth  likeness  illuminates  my 
cell  with  the  right  manly  and  noble  countenance  of  Father 
Kenyon.  He  is  standing  with  his  arms  folded,  and  a  look  of 
firmness,  almost  scornful  defiance,  but  tempered  and  subdued,  in 
his  compressed  lips  and  clear  grey  eye.  Now,  the  speaking 
images  of  two  such  friends  as  these — to  say  nothing  of  the  first 
two — will  be  high  and  choice  companionship  for  me  in  my  den. 
But  what  do  they  now  ?  Where  are  they  ?  How  fare  they  ? 
Is  it  possible  that  my  gaolers  can  keep  me  fourteen  years  from 
learning  what  became  of  the  great  cause  from  the  27th  of  May  last 
forward  ?  I  do  not  fear  this ;  by  prudence  and  caution,  and 
patience,  some  bulletins  of  intelligence  will  be  gained,  methinks. 
15th. — Each  of  these  wooden  prisons,  with  its  inmates,  affects 
still  to  be  a  ship  and  crew ;  the  ofiicer  second  in  command  is 
called  "  chief-mate,"  then  we  have  second-mate,  and  quarter- 
masters ;  the  rank-and-file  of  the  turnkeys  are  termed  guards. 
The  prisoners,  or  ship's  company  are  distributed  into  messes  and 
watches  ;  and  half-a-dozen  of  them  who  are  set  apart  to  man  the 
boats,  swab  the  decks,  and  the  hke,  are  "  boatswain's  mates." 
All  these  matters  I  discover  as  I  walk  the  quarter-deck  in  dignified 
silence,  and  observe  the  daily  ongoings  of  my  dismal  abode.  So 
I  am  to  regard  myself  as  one  of  a  ship's  company — one  who  may, 
by  good  conduct,  rise  to  be  a  boatswain's  mate  !  Rather,  indeed, 
I  seem  a  sohtary  passenger,  bound  on  a  fourteen  years'  cruise, 
though  fast  moored  by  head  and  stem.     The  language,  too,  used 

by  both  officers  and  prisoners,  is  altogether  ship-shape — d 

b ,  or  b your  b old  eyes !    One  or  other  of  these  is  the 

usual  form  of  rebuke,  expostulation,  or  encouragement  (as  the 
case  may  be)  employed  in  the  constant  routine  of  duty.  The 
chief-mate,  the  same  tall  old  man  who  took  charge  of  my  finances, 

is  a  man  high  in  authority,  and  d s  and  b s  all  the  eyes  in 

the  ship  at  his  pleasure,  except  mine  and  the  commander's.  He 
is  also  the  person  specially  charged  to  take  care  of  tne.  It  is  he 
who  locks  my  cell  at  night,  and  unlocks  it  in  the  morning  ;  and 
besides  that,  he  always  pays  me  a  visit  about  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
and  three  times  more  between  that   and  morning,  to   make 


JAIL  JOURNAL  57 

sure  thai"  I  have  not  escaped.  If  I  am  asleep,  or  pre- 
tending to  be  asleep,  he  makes  the  guard  bring  near  his  lantern, 
so  that  its  Hght  may  fall  on  my  face,  and  assures  himself  that  it 
is  I,  and  no  other,  who  lies  there.  I  see  no  way  of  escape,  or  else, 
God  knows,  I  would  try  it :  but  I  am  given  to  understzind  this 
uneasy  vigilance  of  my  old  friend  the  mate  is  a  very  peculiar  and 
unexampled  degree  of  attention.  Yet  it  is  not  all :  since  my 
return  from  the  hospital-ship  I  learn  that  a  sentinel  from  the 
barracks  keeps  guard  upon  this  breakwater  all  night  close  along- 
side the  ship,  as  well  as  another  sentinel  at  the  place  where  a 
bridge  joins  one  end  of  the  breakwater  to  the  fortifications — and 
that  persons  coming  to  the  hulks  here  after  sunset,  even  the 
surgeon  and  other  officers,  are  obliged  now  to  provide  themselves 
with  passes.  Then  the  poor  prisoners  are  restricted  from  much 
of  the  little  Uberty  they  had  before,  and  must  not  saunter  on  the 
breakwater  as  they  used.  In  short,  the  reins  of  discipline  have 
been  gathered  up  so  tight  for  my  sake,  that  I  beUeve  the  whole 
"  ship's  company  "  heartily  wish  I  had  been  sent  to  Australia  or 
to  the  d — 1.  I  seem  unconscious  of  all  this,  and  pace  the  quarter- 
deck in  silence,  walking  the  plank. 

These  planks,  I  may  observe  by  the  way,  are  undoubtedly  the 
celebrated  "  last  planks  of  the  Constitution,"  so  often  referred  to 
by  an  illustrious  gentleman  deceased ;  and  I  find  them  to  be  of 
leak. 

20th. — ^The  August  mail-steamer  has  arrived  :  bringing  another 
month's  history  of  Ireland,  but  not  for  me.  I  have  letters  from 
home,  however,  all  well.  Wife  and  bairns  at  Carlingford  for  the 
summer. 

28th. — I  was  right :  news  do  leak,  percolating  through  the 
strangest  capillary  tubes  :  a  man  cannot  be  sealed  up  hermetically 
in  a  hulk  ;  and  I  am  not  to  be  fourteen  years  in  utter  darkness. 
Void  J  Government  continues  to  act  with  vigour  :  certain  Chart- 
ists have  been  holding  meetings  in  London  to  testify  sympathy 
with  me  :  whereupon  the  insulted  Government  clapped  them  up 
in  jail  and  indicted  them  ;  the  record  of  my  conviction  as  a  felon 
was  produced  by  my  friend  Kemmis  on  their  trial  as  part  of  the 
proof  against  them.  Amongst  others,  Ernest  Jones,  an  able  man, 
a  barrister,  and  editor  of  the  Northern  Star,  has  been  convicted 
and  sentenced  to  two  years'  imprisonment  for  attending  one  of 


58  JAIL  JOURNAL 

those  meetings,  and  saying  in  his  speech  there,  that  I,  J.  M., 
would  one  day  return  to  my  coimtry  in  triumph,  and  Lord  John 
Russell  and  Lord  Clarendon  would  be  transported.  Fine  vigour 
this !  But  then  possibly  Mr.  Jones  and  the  rest  have  had  fair 
play  in  respect  of  juries  in  London.  Of  this  indeed  I  can  find  no 
distinct  intelligence  ;  but  there  is  actually  Law  and  a  Govern- 
ment in  their  country.  If  the  juries  were  not  packed,  they  have 
nothing  to  complain  of  ;  if  they  were  fairly  tried  by  their  country- 
men and  found  guilty,  why,  they  are  guilty. 

In  Ireland,  Meagher  has  been  arrested  at  his  father's  house  and 
carried  to  Dubhn.  His  crime  is  a  speech  at  Rathkeale,  and 
"  sedition  "  only,  not  "  felony ; "  therefore  he  is  Uberated  on  bail. 
A  warrant  against  Smith  O'Brien — not  yet  executed.  Bt4i  John 
Martin  lies  in  Newgate  charged  with  felony,  committed  in  the 
Irish  Felon — and  where  else  should  felony  be  found  ?  Duffy  is 
also  in  Newgate,  for  a  Uke  felony  done  in  the  Nation  ;  Kevin 
O'Doherty,  and  R.  D.  Williams,  who  estabUshed  another  felonious 
newspaper  immediately  after  my  kidnapping,  under  the  title  of 
the  Irish  Tribune,  are  also  committed  for  felony :  and — still  more 
vigorous  vigour — the  issue  of  the  three  papers.  Nation,  Felon,  and 
Tribune,  was  stopped  by  the  poUce,  who  even  took  them  away 
from  the  newsmen  on  the  streets  :  their  offices  were  broken  c^en, 
taken  possession  of  and  searched  for  felonious  documents  ;  and, 
in  short,  everything  goes  on  in  the  genuine  '98  style.  I  like 
all  this  very  well. 

And  poor  Williams,  with  his  fraigile  frame  and  sensitive  poetic 
temperament — is  he  to  be  a  martyr  felon  ?  And  Martin  !  But 
perhaps  Lord  Clarendon  may  find  these  two  amongst  the  stoutest 
he  has  yet  to  deal  with. 

Now  will  the  philanthropic  viceroy  deUberately  pack  a  Castle 
jury  for  every  one  of  these  criminals  ;  and  again  systematically 
exclude  three  parts  of  the  citizens  of  DubUn  from  the  exercise  of 
the  commonest  rights  of  good  and  lawful  men  ?  I  think  he  will 
do  it ;  at  his  peril  he  must  do  this  atrocity.  I  told  him  he  would 
have  to  do  it,  or  else  give  up  the  government.  He  dares  not 
give  his  prisoners  a  fair  trial :  "  policy,"  "  statesmanship,"  and 
the  "  force  of  circumstances,"  will  imperiously  compel  him  to 
cheat  these  men,  to  work  hideous  injustice  under  colour  of  law, 
to  tamper  with  the  administration  of  justice,  which  it  is  his  office 


JAIL  JOURNAL  59 

to  guard,  to  outrage  Ireland,  to  lie  to  England,  and  to  damn  his 
own  soul.  Imperious  force  of  circumstances.  When  will  rulers 
conceive,  in  their  benighted  minds,  that  common  honesty  is  the 
deepest  poUcy,  and  that  by  far  the  cunningest  statesmanship 
would  be  to  do  plain  justice? 

At  any  rate  matters  are  now  in  train  for  plenty  of  excellent 
legal  work  in  Ireland  :  they  will  know  before  all  is  over  what  fine 
laws  and  constitution  they  have  there  :  the  "  law  "  will  develop 
itself,  and  "  Crown  and  Government "  will  g^t  vindicated  properly 
— jurors,  also,  one  may  hope,  will  learn  their  duty  amidst  all  this 
(I  mean  the  duty  they  will  have  to  do  so  soon  as  trial  by  jury  is 
restored) — the  duty,  namely,  in  all  political  prosecutions  at  the 
suit  of  the  Queen  of  England,  to  find  all  'persons  not  guilty.  Nay, 
they  must  carry  it  further,  and  insist  upon  bringing  in  special 
verdicts  in  all  such  cases,  finding,  on  their  oath,  that  the  respective 
prisoners  at  the  bar  have  merited  well  of  their  country — that  is, 
if  they  have  really  deUvered  a  damaging  blow  to  "government." 

Either  it  will  come  to  this,  or  else  the  philanthropic  viceroy 
must  pack  closer,  and  ever  closer,  every  Commission  ;  and  tran- 
sport and  hang  men  on  the  verdicts  of  his  own  particular  trades- 
men, "  by  special  appointment "  jurors  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant 
— which  in  the  end  may  work  as  well. 

Lord  Fitzwilham  wants  to  "  bring  in  a  Bill "  to  pension  the 
Catholic  clergy,  that  is,  bribe  them  to  secure  the  peace  of  the 
country,  while  "  government  "  is  working  its  wicked  will.  Mini- 
sters appear  to  think  the  proposal  too  palpable  and  ostentatious 
in  its  corruptness  at  the  present  moment :  so  they  are  "  not 
prepared  to  accede  "  just  now.  That  small  job  is  to  stand  over 
for  a  while. 

Sept.  1st. — ^Three  months  this  day  since  I  sailed  away  from  the 
Cove  of  Cork. 

Shall  I  go  on  scribbling  in  a  book,  making  myself  believe  that  I 
am  keeping  a  journal  ?  Why,  one  day  is  exactly  hke  every  other 
day  to  me.  On  this  fourteen  years'  voyage  of  mine,  it  might 
seem  that  one  seafaring  practice  at  least  might  be  dispensed 
with — keeping  a  log,  namely.  For  my  latitude  and  longitude, 
my  course  and  bearings  vary  not  from  day  to  day  :  the  altitude 
of  the  sun  at  noon  is  always  just  the  same,  save  the  season's 
difference.    Nothing  ever  happens  to  me.    What  have  I  to 


6o  JAIL  JOURNAL 

write  ?  Or,  if  I  write  my  nothings,  who  will  ever  read  ?  May 
not  the  "  chief  mate  "  come  in  any  morning  and  take  away  my 
log  for  his  own  private  reading — or,  if  he  think  it  worth  while, 
deliver  it  to  the  superintendent,  who  may  deliver  it  to  the 
governor,  who  may  deliver  it  to  the  Prime  Minister  ?  So  it  may 
even  come  to  do  me  harm  another  day  :  for  I  am  in  their  power. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  all  these  considerations,  I  feel  much  in- 
clined to  jot  down  a  page  or  two  now  and  then,  though  it  were 
but  to  take  note  of  the  atmospheric  phenomena  ;  or  to  praise  or 
abuse  some  book  that  I  may  have  been  reading  ;  or,  in  short,  to 
put  on  record  anything,  whether  good  or  bad,  that  may  have  oc- 
curred in  my  mind — if  one  may  use  so  strong  an  expression  as 
mind  in  this  seaweed  state.  After  all,  in  so  very  long  a  voyage, 
one  might  well  forget  from  whence  he  set  sail,  and  the  way  back, 
unless  he  have  some  sort  of  memoranda  to  refer  to.  This  book 
will  help  to  remind  me  of  what  I  was,  and  how  I  came  down 
hither,  and  so  preserve  the  continuity  of  my  thoughts,  or  personal 
identity,  which,  there  is  sometimes  reason  to  fear,  might  slip 
away  from  me.  These  scrawls  then  will  be  in  some  sort  as  the 
crumbs  which  the  prince  (I  forget  his  name)  scattered  on  his  way 
as  he  journeyed  through  the  pathless  enchanted  wood.  And 
there  was  in  that  haunted  wood  no  browner  horror  than  I  have 
to  pass  through  here.  The  Ancient  Mariner,  too,  and  his  ship- 
mates, who  were  the  first  that  ever  burst  into  that  silent  sea — 
surely  they  did  not  neglect  to  keep  their  dead  reckoning. 

For  these  reasons,  and  acting  upon  these  examples,  I  shall  go 
on  with  my  notes  of  nothing.  It  interests  me  in  the  meantime  : 
a  vicious  tirade  discharged  into  this  receptacle  relieves  me  much  ; 
a  dissertation  helps  me  to  think,  and  use  reason  aright,  by  means 
of  a  new  organon  I  have  invented,  called  the  Method  of  Rig- 
marole :  a  good  rant,  like  a  canter  on  the  back  of  a  brisk  horse, 
gives  me  an  appetite  for  dinner.  And  surely  amongst  all  this 
there  cannot  fail  to  be  some  things  that  my  boys  will  read  with 
pleasure  in  future  years. 

Memorandum. — ^To  devise  a  certain  and  effectual  mechanism 
whereby,  if  I  should  ever  come  to  be  searched  for  papers,  I  may 
pitch  these  pages  overboard  and  ensure  their  sinking. 

2nd. — As  for  the  books  I  ^ead,  or  am  hkely  to  read  here  for 
some  time  (until  I  can  make  better  arrangements  for  myself). 


JAIL  JOURNAL  6i 

they  furnish  small  matter  of  remark.  The  literature  most  in 
favour  here  seems  to  be  the  very  paltriest  of  London  novels 
reprinted  in  America;  and  (for  "useful  reading^')  they  have 
those  vile  compilations  called  "  Family  Libraries,"  and  "  Cabinet 
Libraiies,"  and  "  Miscellanies,"  and  the  like  dry  skeletons  of 
dead  knowledge  ;  from  which  nobody  ever  extracted  anything 
but  the  art  of  misusing  scientific  language.  It  is  supposed  to 
be  "  popularising  "  science  when  a  compiler  gathers  a  parcel  of 
results  in  some  department  of  knowledge,  and  sets  them  forth 
in  familiar  style,  never  troubhng  himself  or  readers — ^indeed, 
knowing  nothing — about  the  processes  whereby  those  results  are 
got ;  and  so  your  reader  of  popular  literature  learns  to  babble 
about  the  profundity  of  modem  scidnce — you  must  know  it  is 
all  modern — and  to  bestow  his  enlightened  pity  on  ancient 
people  generally,  but  above  all,  on  the  poor  alchemists  and 
astrologers.  Thus,  also,  in  common  discourse  and  the  newspaper 
dialects,  we  perpetually  find  such  words  as  to  predicate  (in  the 
sense  of  to  predict) — proposition,  for  proposal — conterminous,  for 
adjoining,  and  the  like. 

But  apart  from  the  effects  on  language,  and  therefore  on  clear- 
ness of  ideas,  I  complain  of  the  universal  system  of  compiling 
and  scissors-editing,  in  that  books  under  such  treatment  cease  to 
be  books — are  no  longer  the  utterances  of  individual  men,  but  a 
composite  gibberish.  Here  have  I  been  reading  an  account  of 
Abyssinia,  being  a  volume  of  the  "  Family  Library,"  wherein  you 
travel  one  stage  (or  chapter)  with  Bruce  ;  then  half  a  stage  with 
some  Portuguese  missionary,  and  the  remainder  of  it  with  Salt, 
or  somebody  else  :  you  are  never  sure  of  your  travelling  com- 
panion. A  book  ought  to  be  Uke  a  man  or  a  woman,  with  some 
individual  character  in  it,  though  eccentric,  yet  its  own  ;  with 
some  blood  in  its  veins,  and  speculation  in  its  eyes,  and  a  way 
and  a  will  of  its  own.  Then  you  may  make  acquaintance  with 
it,  receive  impressions  from  it.  But  if  it  be  a  rickle  of  bones, 
still  more  if  it  be  a  made-up  skeleton,  collected  out  of  divers 
graves  by  a  popular  editor — with  Mr.  Bruce' s  spinal  column 
wired  to  Mr.  Salt's  skull-bones,  and  Mr.  Belzoni's  pelvis  and  ribs, 
the  thing  is  disgusting. 

Two  other  volumes  of  the  same  Library,  to  wit :  "  Palestine," 
edited  by  Dr.  Russell,  and  "  Persia,"  by  Frazer,  I  have  also 


62  JAIL  JOURNAL 

read  diligently,  not  without  many  wry  faces — and  find  them  to 
be  of  the  same  indigestible  material. 

Howbeit  I  have  swallowed  a  parcel  of  these  volumes  for  want 
of  something  better  (as  Laplanders  sometimes  dine  on  blue  clay 
and  tree-bark)  :  also  a  sheaf  or  fasciculus  of  novels  printed  in 
pamphlet  shape  by  New  York  and  Philadelphia  pirates.  Vast 
oceans  of  trash  !  I  have  always  accounted  myself  remarkably 
eupeptic  in  the  matter  of  books  ;  thought  that  I  could  devour 
much  deleterious  stuff  without  evil  effect — omnia  sana  sanis — 
otherwise,  I  should  presently  suffer  from  a  horrible  constipation 
of  garbage.  And  one  has  need  of  a  stomach  like  the  organs  of 
those  ducks  of  Pontus  (unto  which,  as  Aulus  Gellius  saith,  poisons 
are  rather  wholesome  than  hurtful),  who  adventures  to  gorge 
the  current  "  literature  "  they  compound  for  the  imfortunate 
"  masses  "  in  this  great  age.  But  what  will  not  a  prisoner  have 
recourse  to  for  passing  the  time. 

Not  that  I  mean  to  submit  to  this  long.  Only  for  the  present 
I  am  advisedly  letting  my  intellect  lie  idle,  basking  in  the  sun, 
dozing  in  the  shade,  grazing  upon  every  green  thing.  But  I  never 
dream  of  killing  Time  for  fourteen  years — if  it  come  to  that. 
Time  would  kill  me — fourteen  years  would  be  too  many  for  me  : 
an  occasional  half-hour,  to  be  sure,  you  may  kill  if  you  take  him 
unaware,  but  to  slaughter  Time  by  whole  lustra  and  decades  is 
given  to  no  mortal.  Therefore,  I  intend,  after  having  been  at 
grass  awhile,  to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  Time — a  thing  to 
be  done  by  working  only — to  get  old  Time  on  my  side  instead  of 
Jiving  against  him,  that  so  I  may  use  poor  Walter  Scott's  proverb, 
"  Time  and  I  against  any  two."  In  plain  English,  if  I  find  that 
I  am  likely  to  stay  long  here,  and  to  have,  as  now,  the  disposal  of 
my  own  time,  I  will  try  to  procure  from  Ireland  some  requisite 
books  (perhaps  150  volumes  in  alj) — and  thereafter  deliberately 
write  a  certain  t>cit»k,  a  task  which  I  have  long  lusted  after,  and 
often  wished  for  leisure  to  set  about.  There  is  leisure  enough 
now  ;  and  facturusne  operrB  pretium  sim,  I  make  no  sort  of  doubt ; 
for  the  task  itself,  by  atoning  me  with  Time,  will  be  its  own 
reward. 

Touching  work,  I  am  by  no  means  sure  yet  that  I  may  not  any 
morning  be  equipped  in  a  linen  blouse,  with  the  broad  arrow  on 
jt5  back,  and  sent  out  jn  a  ^ang  to  the  (juarries  to  wojrl?  ther^.     I 


/ 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


63 


im  quite  ready  :  my  health  is  very  good.  To  know  practically 
low  to  blast  and  hew  stones,  and  build,  will  be  no  contemptible 
Lccomplishment ;  and  perhaps  I  may  Uve  and  thrive  better,  earn 
L  keener  appetite  for  my  "  rations,"  and  a  softer  pillow  for  my 
leep,  working  with  my  hands,  than  writing  a  book.  It  is  but 
ourteen  years  (more  or  less) — and  as  for  the  queen's  broad  arrow, 
hey  cannot  brand  it  upon  my  heart  within,  where  many  respect- 
ble  members  of  society  in  Ireland  have  it  stamped  indelibly — 
nen  whose  souls  dwell  in  a  hulk  :  the  queen's  arrow  may  be 
iranded  on  my  garment,  but  into  their  souls  the  iron  has  entered. 

On  this  same  question — ^whether  I,  J.  M.,  shall  be,  or  ought  to 
fe,  set  to  work  like  a  convict^ — there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  dis- 
ussion  in  Parliament  and  the  newspapers.  The  "  authorities  " 
/ould  willingly  have  their  forbearance  attributed  to  their  tender- 
ess  for  my  delicate  state  of  health  ;  or  in  the  alternative. — as 
iiblic  opinion  may  hereafter  make  it  convenient  to  put  the  thing 
n  the  one  ground  or  the  other — they  could  ascribe  the  difference 
lade  in  my  favour  to  consideration  for  a  '"  person  of  education 
nd  a  gentleman."  If  the  authorities  do  now,  or  shall  ever 
ccount  for  it  on  the  score  of  health,  the  authorities  lie — not,  I 
^een,  for  the  first  time — because  I  have  never  once  complained 
f  my  health  since  I  came  to  Bermuda,  and  never  was  in  better 
ealth  all  my  life.  They  cannot  even  plead  the  trifling  illness  I 
ad  on  my  voyage,  because  while  I  was  in  Spike  Island  express 
istructions  (I  saw  them)  were  sent  thither  from  the  Castle,  not 
)  treat  me  in  any  way  as  a  convict,  or  put  me  into  convict 
lothes,  Moreover,  there  are  hundreds  of  poor  convicts  here, 
orking  too,  in  the  quarries,  far  worse  in  health  than  I  ever  was, 
r,  I  hope,  shall  be. 

In  truth,  all  this  great  question  is  very  indifferent  to  me.  I  do 
3t  much  care  whether  they  make  me  work  like  the  convicts  of 
3 — nor  how  they  dr6ss  me.  I  only  set  down  the  above  facts 
2cause  they  are  facts  ;  and  it  may  be  convenient  for  me  tp 
:member  them  some  other  day. 

At  any  rate  work  must  be  had  in  some  shape.  Faciio  aliquid 
^eris,  saith  St.  Jerome,  ut  semper  te  Diaholus  invent  at  occupatum. 
el  fiscellam  texe  junco  ;  vel  canistrum  lentis  plecie  viminihus.  — 
^Mm  fahrica  alvearia  — iexantur  et  Una  capiendis  piscibus, 
'^hich  reminds  me  that  there  is  abundance  of  good  fi^h  here  ; 


64  JAIL  JOURNAL 

mullet,  boneto,  a  thick  sort  of  flat-fish,  a  red-fleshed  fish  not  very 
much  worse  than  salmon.  There  is  also  a  monstrous  kind  of 
mackerel,  three  or  four  feet  long,  a  most  powerful  and  voracious 
fish.  They  cruise  to  and  fro  in  parties  of  three  or  four,  and  I 
have  often  watched  them  for  an  hour  at  a  time  swimming  about 
in  the  deep  green  water,  and  occasionally  making  a  superb  charge 
amongst  the  shoals  of  young  fry,  Uke  a  squadron  of  Inniskilleners 
riding  through  a  mob. 

/\th-iith. — Reading  Homer,  and  basking  in  the  sun  upon  the 
sea  side  of  the  breakwater.  Weather  delicious.  Have  also  been 
swallowing  autobiographies — Gifford's,  Thomas  Elwood's,  Capt. 
Crichton's  autobiography  by  Dean  Swift.  Crichton  was  an  old 
cavalry  officer,  an  Irishman,  who  had  served  in  Scotland  under 
the  bloodhound  Dalzell,  against  the  Covenanters :  and  as  he 
could  not  tell  his  story  decently  himself,  the  Dean,  while  he  was 
staying  at  Markethill,  took  down  the  facts  from  the  old  man  and 
set  them  forth  in  his  own  words,  but  using  the  first  person — 
Crichton  loquente.  The  product  is  highly  amusing  :  in  every 
page  you  see  a  Dean  of  St.  Patrick's  riding  down  the  Whigamores, 
or  a  Sergeant  Bothwell  in  canonicals  thundering  against  Wood's 
Copper.  But  the  best  thing  is  that  our  admirable  Dean  makes 
Crichton  (who  did  not  care  a  button  about  the  matter)  deliver 
with  bitter  venom  some  of  his,  the  Dean's,  own  Jonathan-Swiftean 
opinions  about  church  government,  and  contradict  and  vituperate 
Bishop  Burnet  with  an  odium  almost  theological,  and  he  a  mere 
dragoon.  William  Gifford's  account  of  himself  is  somewhat  con- 
ceited and  pragmatical,  yet  natural  and  manful.  I  have  a  deep 
and  secret  sympathy  with  Gifford.  Elwood's,  however,  is  by  far 
the  best  of  the  three,  and  is  indeed  one  of  the  most  downright 
straightforward  productions  I  ever  met  with.  What  a  book  of 
books  an  autobiography  might  be  made,  if  a  man  were  found 
who  would  and  could  tell  the  whole  truth  and  no  more  than  the 
truth  !  But  I  suppose  such  a  man  will  never  be  found.  Nobody, 
surely,  believes  Mr.  Gibbon's  statement  of  his  own  case :  and 
you  cannot  well  tell  what  to  make  of  Rousseau's.  Perhaps 
Evelyn's  diary  comes  as  near  to  the  thing  as  any  of  these  :  but 
then  it  is  almost  entirely  objective,  not  subjective ;  besides, 
Eveljm  was  so  staid  and  well-regulated  a  fellow,  so  quiet  a 
citizen  and  foint-d^-vice  a  gentlema,n,  that  ^yha.t  hfi  has  to  t^U  h 


-I'll,, 
I 

1 1 .  i' rill! 

i;!ii'iili;i 
I 

Ullll 


'l''l'ii 


-^i^ppi«HqppRpiipupi|«iuii  jLiii,  r-  ^T^F'!«PBSWW-!n*?.«"  +:i^*  i;"??*!?^  ■ 


/^/L  JOURNAL  65 

not  so  well  worth  telling  as  one  could  wish.  I  conclude  that  the 
perfect  or  ideal  autobiography  no  human  eye  will  ever  see  ; 
because  they  whose  inner  life  is  best  worth  revealing— whose 
souls  have  soared  highest  and  dived  deepest — are  just  they  who 
will  never  make  a  confidant  of  the  discerning  pubhc  :  or  if  they 
communicate  anything,  it  will  be  but  here  a  httle  and  there  a 
little,  and  not  in  the  name  of  the  Ego,  but  by  way  of  adumbra- 
tion, as  in  the  case  of  those  sybilUne  paper-bags  put  forth  by  the 
enterprising  pubhshers,  Stillschweigen  &  Cognie,  of  Weissnichtwo. 
i^th. — The  glorious  bright  weather  tempts  me  to  spend  much 
time  on  the  pier,  where  I  have  been  sitting  for  hours,  with  the 
calm  Umpid  water  scarce  ripphng  at  my  feet.  Towards  the 
north-east,  and  in  front  of  me  where  I  sit,  stretches  away  beyond 
the  rim  of  the  world  that  immeasurable  boundless  blue  ;  and  by 
intense  gazing  I  can  behold,  in  vision,  the  misty  peaks  of  a  far-off 
land — yea,  round  the  gibbous  shoulder  of  the  great  oblate  spher- 
oid, my  wistful  eyes  can  see,  looming,  floating  in  the  sapphire 
empyrean,  that  green  Hy  Brasil  of  my  dreams  and  memories — 
"  with  every  haunted  mountain  and  streamy  vale  below."  Near 
me,  to  be  sure,  on  one  side,  lie  scattered  an  archipelago  of  sand 
and  lime-rocks,  whitening  and  spUtting  like  dry  bones  under  the 
tyrannous  sun,  with  their  thirsty  brushwood  of  black  fir-trees ; 
and  still  closer,  behind  me,  are  the  horrible  swarming  hulks, 
stewing,  seething  cauldrons  of  vice  and  misery.  But  often  while 
I  sit  by  the  sea,  facing  that  north'-eastem  art,  my  eyes,  and  ears, 
and  heart  are  all  far,  far.  This  thirteenth  of  September  is  a  calm, 
clear,  autumnal  day  in  Ireland,  and  in  green  glens  there,  and  on 
many  a  mountain  side,  beech-leaves  begin  to  redden,  and  the 
heather-bell  has  grown  brown  and  sere  :  the  corn-fields  are  nearly 
all  stripped  bare  by  this  time  ;  the  flush  of  summer  grows  pale  ; 
the  notes  of  the  singing-birds  have  lost  that  joyous  thrilUng 
abandon  inspired  by  June  days,  when  every  little  singer  in  his 
drunken  rapture  will  gush  forth  his  very  soul  in  melody,  but  he 
will  utter  the  unutterable  joy.  And  the  rivers,  as  they  go  brawl- 
ing over  their  pebbly  beds,  some  crystal  bright,  some  tinted  with 
sparkling  brown  from  the  high  moors — "  the  hue  of  the  Cairn- 
gorm pebble" — all  have  got  their  autumnal  voice,  and  chide 
the  echoes  with  a  hoarser  murmur,  complaining  (he  that  hath 
ears  to  hear  let  him  hear)  how  that  summer  is  dying  and  the  time 
5 


66     -  JAIL  JOURNAL 

of  the  singing  of  birds  is  over  and  gone.  On  such  an  autumn  day 
to  the  inner  ear  is  ever  audible  a  kind  of  low  and  pensive,  but 
not  doleful  sighing,  the  first  whispered  susurrus  of  those  moaning, 
waiUng  October  winds,  wherewith  winter  preludes  the  pealing 
anthem  of  his  storms.  Well  known  to  me  by  day  and  by  night 
are  the  voices  of  Ireland's  winds  and  waters,  the  faces  of  her 
ancient  mountains.  I  see  it,  I  hear  it  all — for  by  the  wondrous 
power  of  imagination,  informed  by  strong  love,  I  do  indeed  live 
more  truly  in  Ireland  than  on  these  unblessed  rocks. 

But  what  avails  it  ?  Do  not  my  eyes  strain  over  the  sea  in 
vain  ?  my  soul  yearn  in  vain  ?  Has  not  the  Queen  of  England 
banished  me  from  the  land  where  my  mother  bore  me,  where 
my  father's  bones  are  laid  ? 

Sept.  26th.- — Asthma  !  asthma  !  The  enemy  is  upon  me.  For 
a  few  months  I  fondly  dreamed  that  the  fiend  was  shaken  off, 
and  that  the  change  of  cUmate  had  finally  exorcised  him.  Once 
more  I  feel  that,  though  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning,  there 
is  no  escape  from  this  plague. 

2yth. — "  B —  his  b eyes  !     What  is  he  but  a  convict,  like 

the  rest  of  us — ad ,  b convict?  " — Meaning  me.     I 

heard  this  exclamation  to-day  through  the  wooden  walls  of  my 
cell,  when  the  gangs  were  in  at  dinner-hour  :  for  they  sometimes 
grow  loud  and  energetic  in  their  discourse,  and  then  I  cannot  but 
hear  some  of  their  words.  A  b- — —  convict  like  the  rest !  The 
man  is  right ;  and  I  am  well  pleased  to  hear  the  observation, 
and  to  see  the  black  scowls  that  some  of  the  prisoners  give  me 
when  any  accident  brings  them  to  meet  me  on  the  pier.  By 
"  Act  of  ParUament,"  and  by  the  verdict  of  a  "  jury,"  I  am  a  felon, 
as  they  are,  and  know  no  title  I  have  to  walk  about "  like  a  gentle- 
man," that  is  idle,  while  they  work  hard.  Right,  my  felon  friend ! 
I  like  to  know  that  such  a  feeUng  is  astir ;  and  truly  it  could 
hardly  fail ;  these  men,  who  have  to  take  off  their  hats  when 
they  speak  to  the  pettiest  guard  of  the  ship,  and  who  dare  not 
set  foot  on  the  quarter-deck,  even  if  they  have  an  errand  there, 
without  uncovering  and  making  a  low  obeisance — see  me  march- 
ing up  and  down  the  same  quarter -deck,  with  my  hat  on,  and 
those  very  guards  and  officers,  now  and  then,  when  they  meet 
me  in  a  quiet  place,  touching  their  caps  to  me — the  prisoners  see 
all  this,  and  of  course  they  look  black,  and  curse.    It  is  the  only 


iu»^"<P"»*flWii™!mi«lpp(H!^^»»ofpWI>9!*F 


JAIL  JOURNAL  67 

way  they  know  of  at  present  to  express  their  indignation— and  I 
honour  their  cursing,  and  venerate  their  black  looks,  trusting 
that  their  wrath  wiU  fructify  into  an  intelligent  and  wholesome 
hatred  of  those  damnable  "  institutions  "  which  make  so  much  of 
gentlemanhood  and  so  Httle  of  manhood— to  wit.  the  glorious 
British  Constitution  in  Church  and  State. 

On  Sundays,  when  the  convict-congregation  is  attending  service 
on  deck,  and  their  palmetto  hats  are  off,  I  have  an  opportunity  of 
observing  their  faces  and  heads  ;  an  inspection  which  is  facili- 
tated by  the  close  cropping  of  hair  and  shaving  of  whiskers  en- 
forced amongst  them.  At  first  glance  they  look  just  Uke  the 
imtransported  population  at  home  ;  but  closer  examination 
makes  you  aware  that  many  of  them  have  evil  countenances 
and  amorphous  skulls— poor  fellows !— burglars  and  swindlers 
from  the  womb. 

By  Nature  marked, 

Coted  and  signed  to  do  some  deed  of  shame. 

Now  what  was  to  be  done  with  these  ?  Why  were  they  be- 
gotten ?  Might  not  they  take  up  a  reproach  against  their 
Creator,  as  the  Man  of  Uz — or  say  with  Adam — 

• 

Did  I  request  Thee,  Maker,  from  my  clay. 
To  mould  me  Man  ?     Did  I  solicit  Thee 
From  darkness  to  promote  me  ? 

We  may  become  entitled  to  ask  these  questions  when  we  know 
the  secret  things  which  belong  unto  God.  May  not  these  be  even 
now  expiating  sin  committed  before  they  put  on  human  flesh  ? 
May  not  this  be  their  hell  ? — and  a  hell,  one  might  say,  infernal 
enough.  Poor  devils  !  I  hope  they  may  not  have  to  go  farther 
and  fare  worse. 

Most  of  the  prisoners,  however,  have  good  and  well-conditioned 
faces,  as  men  generally  go — quite  up  to  the  average  run  that  you 
meet  in  Ludgate  Hill  or  Dame  Street. 

ZOth. — It  was  not  until  this  day  that  I  got  a  sketch  of  the  news 
brought  by  the  September  mails.  Something  strange,  it  was 
plain,  had  befallen  in  Ireland,  by  the  significant  looks  the  guards 
sometimes  gave  me,  and  by  their  suddenly  stopping  their  con- 
versation whenever  my  walk  on  deck  brought  me  near  them.    I 


68  JAIL  JOURNAL 

have  it ;  in  the  first  place,  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  is  suspended  ; 
this  ordinary  proceeding  having  occupied  just  seventy  hours  for 
its  six  readings  and  its  royal  assent.  Well,  there's  nothing  very 
strange  in  that :  I  expected  that  somewhere  about  this  time. 
But  what  comes  next  ?  John  Martin  found  guilty  of  felony  (by 
a  well-packed  jury  of  Castle-Protestants) — and  sentenced  to  ten 
years'  transportation  !  I  am  very  glad  of  this,  because  Martin  is 
simply  the  best,  worthiest,  and  most  thoroughly  high-minded  man 
I  ever  knew  ;  and  because  he  has  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances, 
who  are  all  aware  of  his  worth.  One  could  not  wish  British  law 
in  Ireland  a  more  damaging,  damning  sort  of  "  vindication  "  than 
thus  to  be  compelled  to  send  such  men,  by  such  methods,  to  its 
hulks.     Go  on,  brave  Law  !     There  is  nothing  Uke  vigour. 

John  Martin  a  convict !  John  Martin  in  the  hulks  !  Dragged 
away  from  the  green  shades  and  fertile  pleasant  places  of  Loug- 
horne,  and  made  one  of  a  felon  ship's-crew  at  Bermuda  or 
Gibraltar.     But  the  end  is  not  yet. 

Who  and  what  is  this  John  Martin  !  A  poUtical  adventurer 
seeking  to  embroil  the  state,  in  hope  of  somehow  rising  to  the  sur- 
face of  its  tossing  waves  ?  or  a  needy  agitator  speculating  on  a 
general  plunder  ?  or  a  vain  young  man  courting  puffs,  paragraphs 
and  notoriety  ?  or  a  wild  Jacobin,  bom  foe  of  order,  who  takes  it 
for  his  mission  to  overthrow  whatever  he  finds  estabhshed,  and 
bring  all  things  sacred  into  contempt  ?  Great  God !  Thou 
knowest  that  the  man  on  earth  most  opposite  to  all  these  is  John 
Martin,  the  Irish  Felon.  By  temperament  and  habit  retiring, 
quiet,  contented,  one  who  has  lived  always  for  others,  never  for 
himself  ;  his  pleasures  are  all  rural  and  domestic  ;  and  if  there 
be  any  one  thing  under  the  sun  that  he  heartily  scorns,  it  is 
puffery  and  newspaper  notoriety.  All  he  possesses  (and  it  is 
enough  for  his  moderate  wants)  is  landed  property  in  fee-simply 
which  a  social  chaos  would  assuredly  whirl  away  from  him. 
Instead  of  being  a  Jacobin,  and  natural  enemy  of  Law,  Property 
and  Order,  he  venerates  Law  beyond  all  other  earthly  things — 
cannot  bear  to  live  where  anarchy  reigns  ;  would  for  ever  prefer 
to  bear  with  unjust  institutions,  corruptly  administered,  if  not 
wholly  intolerable,  rather  than  disquiet  himself  and  others  in  a 
struggle  to  abolish  them.  But  in  the  exact  proportion  in  which 
this  man  reveres  Law,  he  loathes  and  spurns  the  fraudulent 


.' '  ■  '.I'J'r-IJl''  ?J  ■».»  ^  W. )  ..«IH..J  ip!»fgPJI 


JAIL  JOURNAL  69 

sham  of  Law.  He  respects  property— his  own  and  other  men's 
—while  it  subsists  ;  but  he  knows  that  when  a  large  proportion 
of  the  people  in  any  land  lie  down  to  perish  of  want,  by  millions 
(or  were  it  only  by  thousands  or  hundreds),  there  is  no  property 
any  longer  there — only  robbery  and  murder.  Property  is  an 
institution  of  Society — not  a  Divine  endowment,  whose  title-deed 
is  in  heaven  ;  the  .uses  and  trusts  of  it  are  the  benefit  of  Society ; 
the  sanction  of  it  is  the  authority  of  Society  ;  but  when  matters 
come  to  that  utterly  intolerable  condition  in  which  they  have 
long  been  in  Ireland,  Society  itself  stands  dissolved — a  fortiori — 
property  is  forfeited ;  no  man  has  a  right  to  the  hat  upon  his 
own  head,  or  the  meal  he  eats,  to  the  exclusion  of  a  stronger 
man.  There  has  come,  for  that  nation,  an  absolute  need  to  re- 
construct Society,  to  re-organise  Order  and  Law,  to  put  property 
into  a  course  whereby  it  will  re-distribute  itself.  And,  inasmuch 
as  such  needful  re-creations  never  have  been,  and  never  will  be 
accomplished,  without  first  tumbling  down,  rooting  up,  and 
sweeping  away  what  rotten  rubbish  may  remain  of  the  old  vener- 
able Institutions,  why,  the  sooner  that  business  is  set  about,  the 
better.  If  we  must  needs  go  through  a  sore  agony  of  anarchy 
before  we  can  enjoy  the  blessings  of  true  Order  and  Law  again, 
in  the  name  of  God,  let  us  go  through  with  it  at  once ! 

Now,  is  this  John  Martin's  thought  I  am  setting  out,  or  my 
own  ?  I  believe  both.  At  any  rate,  John  Martin  is  an  Irish- 
man, and  can  never  endure  to  have  "  laws "  made  over  his 
country  by  and  for  a  foreign  people.  To  make  that  outrage 
impossible  he  accounts  the  first  duty  of  all  Irishmen.  There, 
at  least,  we  are  of  one  mind. 

On  another  point,  also,  we  are  one.  Since  my  boyhood,  1  have 
always  looked  with  a  sort  of  veneration  upon  an  independent 
farmer  cultivating  his  small  demesne — a  rural  pater- familias,  who 
aspires  to  no  lot  but  labour  in  his  own  land,  and  takes  off  his  hat 
to  no  "  superior  "  under  God  Almighty.  Tenant-right,  fee-farm, 
call  his  tenure  what  you  will — only  let  him  be  sure  that  where  he 
sows,  he  or  his  shall  reap,  eat  and  be  satisfied.  Such  a  farmer 
as  this,  though  his  acres  be  very  few,  can  generally  bring  his 
children  creditably  forward  in  a  hfe  of  honest  industry,  apprentice 
some  of  his  sons  to  handicraft  trades,  portion  the  girls  with  twq 
cows  and  £20,  and  grow  old  among  his  grandchildren,  hke  an 


70  JAIL  JOURNAL 

uncivilised  patriarch,  as  he  is  ;  never  troubling  his  mind  about 
the  Progress  of  the  Species,  nor  knowing  in  the  least  what  that 
phrase  may  mean.  I  have  loved  to  see,  in  the  North  of  Ireland, 
whilst  Ireland  was,  the  smoke  of  the  homesteads  of  innumerable 
brave  working  farmers,  rising  from  a  thousand  hills  ;  and  often 
in  my  summer  wanderings  (in  company  with  the  other  felon), 
from  the  farthest  wilds  of  Donegal  to  the  pleasant  fields  of  Down 
and  Armagh,  we  have  fondly  dreamed  that  our  country's  hope 
lay  in  the  quiet  extension  of  this  tenant-right  spirit  and  practice 
throughout  the  island — Monuar  !  monuar  !  how  many  of  the 
warm  hearths  we  saw  smoking  then  are  cold  to-day !  How  ill 
we  had  estimated  the  profound  ferocity  of  foreign  landlordism  ! 
How  many  of  those  simple  people  have  had  to  arise  in  their  old 
age,  bid  adieu  to  their  forefathers'  graves,  and  hopelessly  seek 
their  fortime  in  a  foreign  land  !  I  know  that  respectable  puppies 
would  laugh  at  the  hardship  of  a  mere  feasant,  one  of  the 
"  masses,"  leaving  his  native  land.  Respectable  idiots !  By 
Heaven,  there  is  more  true  refinement  of  feeUng,  more  resistless 
human  passion,  more  deUcate  sensibiUty,  more  keen,  natural 
affection,  more  genuine  character  in  any  one  of  ten  thousand  farm- 
houses in  Ulster  than  there  is  in  Dubhn  Castle,  or  in  the  "  genteel- 
est "  residence  of  FitzwiUiam  Square. 

But  these  people  have  all  been  dealt  with  of  late  (by  those  who 
rule  and  rob)  as  "  masses,"  ;  a  sort  of  raw  material,  to  be 
thinned  when  they  think  it  too  thick,  to  be  absorbed  or  dis- 
tributed as  the  interests  of  Society  (that  is,  those  who  rob  and 
rule)  may  seem  to  require.  We  have  watched  for  years — we  two 
felons — the  gradual  encroachments  of  landlordism  on  what  used 
to  be  the  property  of  the  farmer — the  rapid  conversion  of  house- 
holders into  "  paupers " — the  incessant  efforts  of  the  British 
Government  to  break  down  all  individual  self-respect  amongst 
Irishmen — choosing  a  series  of  famine  years  to  hold  out  for  com- 
petition, in  every  district,  a  set  of  "  situations  under  government," 
and  so  turn  a  whole  nation  into  servile  beggars — the  atrocious 
profligacy  with  which  millions  were  laid  out  in  this  undertaking, 
and  so  laid  out  as  to  make  sure  they  would  never  fructify  to  any 
useful  purpose — never  produce  anything  save  a  crop  of  beggarly 
vice,  idleness,  and  rascality.  Then  we  saw  a  bloody  compact 
made  between  the  Irish  landlords  and  that  diabolical  government 


rT^r^^r'^^m^-: 


JAIL  JOURNAL  yt 

—they  to  maintain  the  "  Union  "  for  England— England  to  help 
and  support  them  in  killing  as  many  people  in  Ireland  as  might 
be  needful  to  preserve  the  sacred  landlord  property  untouched. 
We  saw  that  compact  put  into  actual  execution — and  then,  at 
last,  we  resolved  to  denounce,  at  least,  this  villainy,  to  rouse  the 
people  to  resist  it  while  there  was  yet  time — at  all  events  to  cross 
its  path  ourselves,  though  it  should  crush  us.  And  so  we  are  a 
pair  of  transported  felons.  Be  it  so  :  better  a  transported  felon 
than  a  quiet  slave,  or  a  complaisant  accomplice  in  murder. 
Mine  ancient  comrade !  my  friend  !  my  brother  in  this  pious 
felony — whithersoever  thou  art  now  faring  in  the  fetters  of  our 
pirate  foe,  I  hail  thee  from  far,  across  this  Atlantic  flood,  and  bid 
thee  be  of  good  cheer.    The  end  is  not  yet. 

Lord  Clarendon  is  fiUing  the  gaols  all  over  Ireland  with  sus- 
pected persons  by  virtue  of  the  Habeas-Corpus-Suspension  Act. 
And  there  is  more  Irish  history,  too,  this  month,  if  I  could  but 
get  at  it :  but  better  care  than  ever  is  taken  to  keep  newspapers 
out  of  the  ship,  and  to  prevent  me  from  learning  anything.  I 
will  take  patience,  however — John  Martin's  transportation  is 
vigour  enough  for  one  month. 

Oct.  i8th. — Three  weeks  of  sickness,  sleepless  nights,  and  dismal 
days  :  and  the  "  light "  reading  that  I  have  been  devouring  I  find 
to  weigh  very  heavy.  Yet  the  "  Three  Mousquetaires  "  of  Dumas 
is  certainly  the  best  novel  that  creature  has  made.  How  is  it  that 
the  paltriest  feuilletoniste  in  Paris  can  always  turn  out  something 
at  least  readable  (readable,  I  mean,  by  a  person  of  ordinary  taste 
and  knowledge)  and  that  the  popular  providers  of  that  sort  of 
thing  in  London — save  only  Dickens — are  so  very  stupid,  ignorant 
and  vicious  a  herd  ?  Not  but  the  feuilleton-men  are  vicious 
enough ;  but  then  vice  wrapped  decently  in  plenty  of  British 
cant,  and  brutified  by  cockney  ignorjince,  is  triply  vicious. 
Dumas's  "  Marquis  de  Letoriere,"  too,  is  a  pleasant  Uttle  novel- 
ette :  but  I  have  tried  twice,  and  tried  in  vain,  to  get  through 
a  mass  of  letterpress  called  "  Windsor  Castle,"  by  Ainsworth ; 
and  another  by  one  Douglas  Jerrold,  entitled  "  St.  Giles  and  St. 
James."  It  would  not  do  :  the  lonehest  captive  in  the  dullest 
dungeon,  dying  for  something  to  read,  and  having  nothing  else 
but  those,  had  better  not  attempt  them :  they  will  only  make 
him,  if  possible,  stupider  than  he  was  before.    This  Jerrold  is 


72  JAIL  JOURNAL 

the  same  man  who  perpetually  reads  lectures  to  "  Society  "  (in 
England) — abusing  it  for  that  it  does  not,  in  its  corporate 
capacity,  and  with  pubUc  funds,  provide  for  the  virtuous  rearing 
of  all  the  poor — yet  takes  upon  itself  to  punish  them  when  they 
steal,  burn  ricks,  or  waylay  with  intent  to  murder.  And  he 
writes  never-ending  "  Serial "  stories,  purporting  to  be  a  kind  of 
moral  satires  (only  the  satire  has  no  wit  and  the  moral  no  morality) 
showing  clearly  that  poor  children  thus  neglected  in  th§ir  educa- 
tion by  Society  have  a  good  right  to  commit  reprisals  by  picking 
Society's  pockets,  or  the  pockets  of  any  member  thereof.  Think 
of  thi«5  cruel  Society,  omitting  to  train  up  its  children  in  the  way 
they  should  go,  yet  having  the  unnatural  barbarity  to  maintain 
constables  and  gaols  for  the  punishment  of  those  very  children 
when  they  go  wrong  !  But  nothing  so  horribly  disgusts  this  poor 
snivelling  jackass  as  capital  punishments.  Hanging  by  the  neck 
he  considers  every  way  unpleasant,  and  unworthy  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  How  would  he  have  hked  stoning  with  stones 
— or  crucifying,  head  downward  ?  He  undoubtedly  regards  the 
criminal  legislation  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  as  a  grossly  barbarous 
code ;  but,  to  be  sure,  those  were  unenhghtened  ages,  and  had 
no  "  Serials  " — nothing  but  hard  tables  of  stone  ;  one  copy  of 
the  second  edition.  Society,  in  short,  was  in  its  infancy,  and  you 
must  not  expect  to  find  an  old  head  upon  young  shoulders — nor 
to  make  a  silk  purse  out  of  a  sow's  ear.  H  the  compiler  of  the 
Levitical  code  were  called  on  to  compile  laws  now  indeed,  after 
the  labours  of  Beccaria,  Howard,  and  the  philanthropists,  he 
might  make  a  better  piece  of  work. 

24ih. — What  is  this  I  hear  ?  A  poor  extemporised  abortion  of 
a  rising  in  Tipperary,  headed  by  Smith  O'Brien.  There  appears 
to  have  been  no  money  or  provisions  to  keep  a  band  of  people 
together  two  days.  And  O'Brien,  Meagher,  O'Donoghue  (Pat  of 
Dublin),  and  Terence  M'Manus  of  Liverpool,  all  committed  for 
trial  to  Clonmel  gaol  for  being  parties  to  the  wretched  business. 
I  cannot  well  judge  of  this  affair  here,  but  in  so  far  as  I  can  learn 
anything  about  it  and  understand  it,  O'Brien  has  been  driven 
into  doing  the  very  thing  that  ought  not  to  have  been  done — 
that  Lord  Clarendon  will  thank  him  heartily  for  doing.  An 
insurrection,  indeed,  has  been  too  long  deferred ;  yet,  in  the 
present  condition  of  the  island,  no  iising  must  begin  in  the 


JAIL  JOURNAL  73 

country.  Dublin  streets  for  that.  O'Gorman,  Reilly,  Doheny, 
have  fled ;  and  all  prominent  members  of  the  Confederation  in 
country  towns  are  arrested  on  suspicion. 

What  glee  in  DubUn  Castle  and  the  blood-thirsty  dens  of  Down- 
ing-street,  at  this  excuse  for  "  vigour  "  !  And,  of  course,  all  the 
world  thinks  Irish  resistance  is  effectually  crushed ;  and  that 
Ireland's  capacity  for  resistance  was  tested  at  this  cursed  Ballin- 
garry. 

Reilly,  I  am  deHghted  to  find,  is  safe  for  the  present,  but 
Duffy,  Williams,  and  O'Doherty  still  he  in  gaol,  awaiting  their 
trial.  Now,  my  Lord  Clarendon,  if  your  jurors  but  stand  by 
you,  "  law,"  will  get  developed  and  vindicated  to  a  great  extent. 
What  is  to  be  the  end  of  all  this  ?  Are  there  men  left  in  Ireland 
who  will  know  how  to  press  the  enemy  hard  now  ?  And  who 
will  dare  to  do  it  ?  Then  the  poor  people — God  comfort  them  ! 
— have  another  famine-winter  before  them,  for  the  potatoes  have 
generally  failed  again  ;  and,  to  be  sure,  the  com  is  not  for  the 
likes  of  them. 

As  for  juries  in  these  cases,  the  Clonmel  juries  will  consist 
merely  of  Cromwellian  Tipperary  magistrates  and  kightened 
Protestant  landed  proprietors.  The  Castle  Judge  will  put  it  to 
them  to  say  what  they  think  of  revolutions,  and  what  revolution- 
ary characters  deserve  to  sufter.  It  is  possible  these  four  worthy 
men  may  be  hanged. 


CHAPTER  V 

Nov.  ylh,  1848 — Intny cell," Dromedary" Hulk. — This  evening, 
after  dusk,  as  I  sat  at  my  window,  looking  drearily  out  on  the 
darkening  \v;aters,.  something^^  was  thrown  from  the  door  of  my 
ceil;  -  a^N3iSftP¥l<^1tt''rfty  feet.  I  heard  a  quick  noiseless  step 
leaving  the  door.  Picking  up  the  object,  I  found  it  to  be  a 
London  paper.  The  Hahfax  mail  has  arrived — I  long  for  the 
hour  when  my  cell  is  to  be  locked,  and  carefully  hide  my  treasure 
tiU  then. 

At  last  the  chief  mate  has  locked  and  bolted  me  up  for  the 
night.  I  light  a  candle,  and  with  shaking  hands  spread  forth 
my  paper. 

Smith  O'Brien  has  been  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be 
drawn  on  a  hurdle  to  the  place  of  execution  and  hanged.  The 
other  trials  pending. 

2isi. — All  the  four — O'Brien,  Meagher,  M'Manus,  O'Donoghue 
— sentenced  to  death.     But  the  enUghtened  Spirit  of  the  Age — 

the  d take  his  enlightened  cant ! — is  going  to  spare  their 

lives,  and  only  transport  them  for  life.  I  have  seen  a  part  of 
Butt's  speech  in  defence  of  Meagher — bad.  Also  the  few  words 
spoken  by  poor  Meagher  after  conviction  ;  brave  and  noble 
words. 

I  have  been  sick,  and  unable  to  write.  Why  do  I  not  open  my 
mouth  and  curse  the  day  I  was  bom  ?  Because — betj&use  I  have 
a  hope  that  will  not  leave  my  soul  in  darkness — a  proud  hope 
that  Meagher  and  I  together  will  stand  side  by  side  on  some 
better  day — that  there  is  work  for  us  yet  to  do — that  I  am  not 
destined  to  perish  on  the  white  rocks  of  Bermuda — that  the  star 
of  Thomas  Meagher  was  never  kindled  to  set  in  this  Clonmel 
hurdle. 

Of  the  state  of  pubUc  opinion  in  Ireland,  and  the  spirit  shown 
by  the  surviving  organs  thereof,  I  have  but  this  indicium.  The 
Freeman's  Journal,  one  number  of  which  I  have  seen,  ventures 

74 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


76 


IS  a  piece  of  incredible  daring,  to  print  some  words  used  by  White- 
nde  in  his  speech  for  the  prisoners — words  deprecatory  of  the 
racking  of  juries,  or  something  of  that  sort.  The  editor  ventures 
)n  no  remarks  of  his  own,  and  carefully  quotes  Whiteside's  words 
is  "  used  by  counsel."  Quite,  quite  down  !  Yet,  on  the  whole, 
[  do  not  much  blame  Gray  for  not  flinging  himself  into  the  open 
5it.  He  was  no  way  committed  to  this  particular  movement ; 
md  perhaps  he  is  wise  to  let  the  storm  blow  past  and  keep  his 
paper  aUve  for  quieter  times. 

Let  me  try  if  I  can  arrive  at  any  reasonable  estimate  of  the 
prospects  of  the  great  cause  amidst  all  this  ululu.  Half-a-dozen 
gentlemen,  or  so,  are  "  transported  "  (or  suppose  we  had  been 
mpaled  or  broken  on  the  wheel).  This,  we  will  say,  is  a  loss  to 
:he  half-dozen  gentlemen  and  their  friends.  But  the  question  is, 
las  British  government  in  Ireland  been  damaged  by  the  coUision, 
)r  otherwise  ?  Has  a  breach  been  effected  ?  If  so,  we  who  were 
n  the  front  rank  at  the  assault,  have  no  right  to  complain  that 
jve  only  help  to  fill  up  a  ditch  with  our  bodies  for  other  men  to 
3ass  over.     Let  us  thank  God  if  there  be  men  to  pass. 

And  I  think  British  dominion  has  been  damaged,  and  heavily. 
3f  course,  the  contrary  will  seem  to  be  the  fact  for  awhile.  All 
X)ld  newspapers  being  silenced  and  all  leading  men  put  under 
ock  and  key,  there  will  be  a  lull  in  the  matter  of  "  sedition  "  and 
'  treason  "  ;  Ministers  wiU  sanctimoniously  congratulate  the 
peaceably  disposed  community  ;  Cockney  newspapers  will  crow 
nost  cheerily  ;  and  the  Irish  Rebellion  will  be  matter  of  merri 
nent  to  all  sleek  money-getting  men  in  England.  But  is  Irish 
iisaffection  growing  less  deep  or  deadly  all  this  while  ?  Will  the 
strong  healthy  appetite  for  our  glorious  treason  just  subside  when 
Lord  Clarendon  chooses  burglariously  to  enter  and  gut  all 
seditious  newspaper  offices  ?  Will  Cathohc  householders,  who 
blow  they  are  entitled  to  serve  as  jurors,  paying  the  requisite 
taxes  and  having  their  names  on  the  needful  books,  will  they 
iove  the  "  government "  any  better  than  they  did,  when  they 
5nd  themselves  publicly  proscribed  and  excluded  from  the 
:ommon  rights  and  functions  of  citizenship  ?  "  And,  I  prithee, 
tell  me  how  dost  thou  find  the  inclination  of  the  people,  especially 
of  the  younger  sort  ?  "  Surely  we  have  not  been  utterly  losing 
3ur  labour  all  these  years  past,  with  our  Nations,  and  our  Irish 


76  .  JAIL  JOURNAL 

libraries,  and  ballads,  and  the  rest  of  it.  Boys  have  been  growing 
up  all  these  years ;  the  national  schools  have  not  been  idle. 
Within  thousands  of  those  "  small  curly  heads  "  (celebrated  by 
Reilly),  thoughts  have  been  kindled  that  Dr.  Whately  wots  not  of. 
Under  many  a  thin  poor  little  jacket,  who  can  tell  what  a  world  of 
noble  passion  has  been  set  aglow ;  what  haughty  aspirings  for 
themselves  and  their  ancient  land  ;  what  infinite  pity  ;  what  hot 
shame  for  their  trampled  country  and  the  dishonoured  name  of 
their  fathers  ;  what  honest,  wistful  rage  ?  Ha  !  if  the  thoughtful 
fiery  boy  but  Uve  to  be  a  man.  What  I  mean  to  say  is,  in  short, 
that  there  is  now  actually  in  Ireland,  a  sort  of  inchoate  rudi- 
mentary public  opinion  independent  of  the  Carthaginians  on 
the  one  hand,  and  of  the  priests  on  the  other.  If  I  be  right,  or 
nearly  right,  in  my  estimate  of  the  relative  forces  now  extant  in 
Ireland,  Carthage  will  dearly  rue  her  vigour  of  1848. 

For  the  persons  on  whom  this  vigour  is  exerted,  it  befalls 
happily  that  the  chief  men  amongst  them  (not  including  myself) 
are  of  the  highest,  purest  character.  Acts  of  ParUament, 
verdicts  of  "  guilty,"  hulks,  chains,  hurdles,  cannot  blacken  or 
disgrace  these  men.  When  persons  caUing  themselves  "  govern- 
ment," by  conspiring  with  corrupt  sheriffs  and  tampering  with 
courts  of  justice,  lay  foul  hands  on  such  men,  I  believe  that 
government  cannot  long  survive  its  crime. 

It  is  true  there  will  be  amongst  the  better-fed  classes — of 
Catholics  especially — a  hideous  display  of  meanness  and  servility 
on  this  occasion.  I  shall  not  wonder  if  corporations,  bishops. 
Catholic  assistant-barristers,  and  other  notabilities  publicly 
praise  my  Lord  Clarendon  for  his  "  wise  precautions,"  and  so 
forth.  O'Connell's  son  will  zealously  disclaim  all  connection 
with  illegal  persons,  and  profess  anxiety  to  administer  the  poor 
dilapidated  remnant  of  his  hereditary  "  agitation,"  as  he  calls  it, 
in  a  strictly  constitutional  manner.  All  this  is  sad  enough  ;  yet, 
I  say,  the  fact  of  a  number  of  honourable  and  worthy  men  being 
oppressively  and  corruptly  put  out  of  the  way  by  the  English 
agents  will  assuredly  bear  good  fruit  in  Ireland  ;  the  wholesome 
leaven  will  be  working  ;  "  disaffection  "  will  have  received  a  new 
stimulus,  motive  and  reason,  and  wiU  be  deepening  and  widening 
daily.  Then  the  circumstance  that  half  the  transported  felons 
are  Protestant  and  half  Catholic  will  surely  help  to  convince  the 


^PBHP!iPBI*"SSB*?'w*f"  '.\i,,m't'M'{'!>w»'^^v>y'^-^'^fT'^>.: 


JAIL  JOURNAL  77 

^orth  (if  anything  can  ever  teach  the  blockhead  North)  that  our 
;ause  is  no  sectarian  cause.  I  rely  much  also  on  the  exertions  of 
;he  national  school  teachers  to  inculcate  sound  Irish  doctrine 
iehors  the  class-books  furnished  to  them  by  Dr.  Whately.  Very 
nany  of  those  teachers,  I  know,  were  fully  bent,  a  year  ago,  on 
:ounteracting  the  influence  of  that  old  shovel-hatted  Cartha- 
ginian who  has  so  long  ridden  the  national  school  system,  hke  a 
;hovel-hatted  nightmare. 

On  the  whole,  then,  we  have : 

First. — ^The  British  Government  unmasked — driven  fairly  from 
ts  conciliatory  position,  and  forced  to  show  itself  the  ferocious 
nonster  it  is. 

Second. — All  the  generous  sympathies  and  passions  of  the 
yToung  and  high-minded  enlisted  on  behalf  of  the  felons  and  their 
ielony,  and  outraged  and  revolted  by  the  atrocity  of  the  enemy. 

Third. — The  strong  appetite  for  national  or  seditious  reading 
sharpened  by  Lord  Clarendon's  press-censorship  :  so  that  the 
text  pouring  forth  of  soimd  doctrine  will  be  as  springs  of  water 
n  a  thirsty  land. 

Thus  the  breach  is  every  way  widened  and  deepened ;  arms 
ire  multiplied,  notwithstanding  proclamations  and  searches  ;  a 
[und  of  treason  and  disaffection  is  laid  up  for  future  use  ;  and  it 
*vill  bum  into  the  heart  of  the  country  till  it  find  vent.  And  so 
the  "  Irish  difficulty  "  will  grow  and  swell  into  a  huge  mountain- 
Dus  impossibility.     God  prosper  it  ! 

Yes  ;  we  "  convicts  "  may  be  very  sure  that  of  all  our  writing, 
speaking,  acting  and  endeavouring,  and  of  the  labour  we  have 
laboured  to  do,  what  was  true,  just,  faithful,  will  not  perish  or 
[ail  of  its  effect,  but  will  stand  and  bear  fruit,  even  though  we  may 
be  lying  in  foreign  graves,  our  bones  mixed  with  the  unclean  dust 
3f  unspeakable  rascaldom  for  ever. 

But  what  must  our  poor  countrjnnen  go  through  in  the  mean- 
time ?     Alas !  what  further,  deeper  debasement  of  mind  and 

body  is  yet  before  them  while  those  EngUsh still  have 

power  to  torture  the  land  with  their  "  laws  ?  "  What  exter- 
minations, what  murders,  what  beggary  and  vice,  what  fearful 
flights  of  hunted  wretches  beyond  sea  to  the  four  winds  of 
heaven  !     How  long  !  how  long  ! 

22nd. — ^Letter  from  my  brother  William,  who  is  in  New  York  : 


78  JAIL  JOURNAL 

it  seems  if  he  had  not  left  Ireland  at  once  he  would  have  been 
arrested  under  the  Habeas-Corpus-Suspension  Act  {which  is  the 
palladium  of  the  British  Constitution — the  Habeas  Corpus  or  the 
suspension  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  ?]  Lord  Clarendon  is  cramming 
the  gaols  :  but  Dillon,  Reilly,  O'Gorman,  and  Doheny  all  seem 
to  have  escaped.  Dillon  is  in  New  York — O'Gorman  escaped  in 
a  small  vessel  to  some  port  in  Bretagne.*  I  cannot  make  out 
Reilly' s  whereabouts  ;  but  wherever  he  is,  the  worthy  fellow  is 
not  idle. 

French  Republic  still  standing,  and,  I  think,  Ukely  to  stand. 
The  information  that  has  penetrated  to  me  through  my  bars  is 
but  fragmentary  ;  not  presenting  me  with  the  panorama  in  due 
sequence,  but  only  a  tableau  here  and  there  ;  yet,  what  I  have 
seen  is  good.  In  June,  some  people,  whom  the  English  news- 
papers call  the  "  Red  RepubUcans  "  and  Communists,  attempted 
another  Paris  revolution,  which,  if  successful,  would  have  been 
itself  a  horrible  affair,  and  at  any  rate  might  have  been  the  death 
of  the  Republic  ;  but  they  were  swept  from  the  streets  with 
grape  and  canister — the  only  way  of  dealing  with  such  unhappy 
creatures. 

I  cannot  believe  that  all  the  party  called  Red  RepubUcans  are 
also  Communists,  though  the  English  newspapers  use  the  terms 
as  synonymous — of  course  to  cast  odium  on  the  thorough-going 
RepubUcans.  I  suspect  that  there  is  a  numerous  party  of  statmch 
RepubUcah^  who  beUeve  the  Revolution  is  but  half  accomplished, 
which,  indeed,  may  turn  out  to  be  the  case.  But  then  these 
ought  to  make  no  common  cause  with  SociaUsts ;  SociaUsts  are 
something  worse  than  wild  beasts. 

But  I  can  see  no  French  papers ;  I  am  in  British  darkness. . 

Note^  that  the  gentle  Alphonse  de  Lamartine  has  somehow 
dropped  out  of  the  tableau  of  late.  I  miss  his  dignified  figure, 
and  lofty  brow  with  its  invisible  crown  of  thorns.  I  miss  the  high- 
flying language  and  gushing  tenderness  of  that  piteous  poet — his 
Bedouin  instep,  and  his  eye  in  elaborate  fine  frenzy  rolling.  What 
has  become  of  him  I  cannot  make  out,  nor  the  special  cause  of 
his  dechiance.  But  it  was  natural,  necessary  and  right :  let 
Alphonse  retire  to  the  East  again,  and  see  visions  of  a  Druse- 
Maronite  empire — let  him  pour  fourth  his  mysterious  sorrows  on 
*  No — to  Constantinople. — J.  M. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  79 

Lebanon,  and  add  with  tears  to  the  dews  of  Hermon.  He  had 
no  call  to  the  leading  of  a  revolution,  and  was  at  best  but  what 
we  seamen  call  a  figure-head.  The  demission  of  Alphonse  pleases 
me  the  better,  as  I  predicted  the  same  in  the  United  Irishman 
within  a  month  after  the  February  revolution.  So  far,  well ;  I 
have  other  poUtical  prophecies  pending — fulfilment  not  due  yet. 

The  Carthaginian  newspapers,  I  find,  are  deeply  distressed  about 
this  French  Republic— mad  that  it  yet  Uves.  They  are  zealous  in 
laying  hold  of  and  exaggerating  all  the  inconveniences  that  cannot 
fail  to  grow  out  of  the  dislocation  of  interests  and  interruption  of 
business  occasioned  by  such  a  revolution  ;  they  are  concerned 
about  it  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  the  French  people,  you  may  be 
sure ;  and  one  and  all  predict  a  speedy  return  to  monarchy  in 
the  person  of  the  young  Bordeaux-Berri-Bomrbon,  if  not  of  Louis 
Philippe  himself.  In  truth,  these  nev/spaper-men  are  thoroughly 
frightened  ;  or,  rather,  their  owners  or  subsidisers,  the  aristocracy 
and  credit-funding  plutocracy  of  Carthage,  are  frightened  at  this 
near  neighbourhood  of  Uberty,  and  the  danger  of  fund-confound- 
ing revolution  ;  and  so  they  all  devote  it  from  their  hearts  to 
the  infernal  gods. 

Here  is  the  mighty  game  of  sixty  years  ago  coming  to  be  played 
again — to  be  played  out  perhaps  this  time  ;  and  the  world  is 
about  to  be  a  spectator  of  a  most  excellent  piece  of  work.  And 
am  I,  O  my  God !  through  all  these  crowded  years  of  Ufe,  to  sit 
panting  here  behind  an  iron  grating,  or  to  die  an  old  hound's 
death,  and  rot  among  Bermudian  blattae  !     Infandum  ! 

Jan.  lb. — Last  night,  as  my  double-goer  and  I — for  I  go  double 
— sat  in  my  cell  smoking  our  pipe  together,  the  awful  shade  took 
occasion  to  expostulate  with  me  in  the  following  terms  : — "  I  do 
observe,"  quoth  he,  "a  singular  change  in  you  of  late  days ;  a 
shadow  of  gloom,  and  almost  a  tinge  of  atrocity,  staining  the 
serene  empyrean  of  your  soul ;  and,  what  is  yet  sadder,  I  behold 
in  you  what  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  conscious  obUquity  of  judgment 
and  elaborate  perversity  of  feeUng,  which  is — that  is,  it  appears 
to  me — that  is,  if  I  read  you  aright— which  is  blacker  than  mere 
natural  malignity." 

The  Ego  {puffing  thick  clouds). — Explain  ;  your  language  is 
unusual. 

Doppelganger. — ^Well,  then,  first ;  What  is  the  meaning  of  all 


8o  JAIL  JOURNAL 

this  fiery  zeal  of  yours  for  the  French  Republic  ?    I  know  well  that 
you  feel  no  antipathy  to  either  a  monarchical  or  an  aristocratic 
government,  as  such  ;  that,  in  fact,  within  your  secret  heart,  you 
care  very  Uttle  about  Republicanism  in  the  abstract. 
'  The  Ego. — Not  a  rush.     What  then  ? 

Doppelganger. — Then  I  am  forced  to  conclude  that  your  anxiety 
for  the  success  of  the  French  Republic  springs  from  something 
else  than  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  the  human  race. 

The  Ego.- — A  fig  for  the  human  race  ;  to  be  sure  it  does. 

Doppelganger. — Yes  ;  it  is  bom  of  no  love  for  mankind,  or  even 
French  mankind,  but  of  pure  hatred  to  England,  and  a  diseased 
longing  for  blood  and  carnage.  You  think  a  repubUc  cannot  long 
stand  in  France  without  a  European  war,  which  would  smash  the 
credit-system,  cut  up  commerce,  and  in  all  probabiUty  take  India 
and  Canada  from  the  British  Empire — to  say  nothing  of  Ireland. 

The  Ego. — To  say  nothing  of  Ireland  ?  But  what  if  I  were 
thinking  of  Ireland  all  the  time  ? 

Doppelganger. — And  for  the  chance  of  getting  Ireland  severed 
from  Britain  in  the  dreadful  melee,  do  you  desire  to  see  all  Europe 
and  America  plunged  in  desperate  war  ?  For  the  chance  of 
enkindUng  such  a  war,  do  you  deUght  to  see  a  great  and  generous 
people  like  the  French,  committing  themselves  and  their  children 
to  a  wild  political  experiment,  which,  as  you  know,  is  as  like  to 
breed  misery  as  happiness  to  them  and  theirs  ? 

The  Ego — {Laying  down  pipe,  and  raising  aloft  an  umbrageous 
pillar  of  smoke). — Now,  listen  to  me,  Herr  Doppelganger.  First, 
I  care  little,  indeed,  about  Republicanism  in  the  abstract ;  but  the 
French  Republic  I  watch  in  its  growth  with  keen  and  loving 
interest.  For  Republicanism,  or  Monarchism,  in  the  abstract,  is 
nothing — a  government  is  a  thing  that  governs  concrete  Uving 
men  under  absolute  extant  circumstances  ;  and  I  regard  aristo- 
cratic and  monarchic  institutions,  how  good  soever  in  their  day 
and  place — how  defensible  soever  "  in  the  abstract,"  as  being 
for  the  Western  nations  of  Europe  worn  out — that  is  to  say, 
worn  out  for  the  present ;  and  until  we  shall  have  advanced  to 
them  again,  via  barbarism,  in  the  cyclical  progress  of  the  species. 
For  England,  for  Ireland  especially,  I  believe  those  institutions 
are  far  more  than  worn  out — were  worn  out  fifty  years  ago,  and 
have  only  been  kept  seemingly  ahve  by  the  commercial  world, 


The  Convict  Garb  at  Bermuda  in  1848 


^B||Hpp|pip||ii|pRap9^p«9nmMf|ifP)i«!«in^ 


JAIL  JOURNAL  8i 

and  for  purposes  of  traffic— to  stave  off  the  inevitable  bani:- 
ruptcy,  smash,  and  alteration  of  the  style  and  firm  ;   but  in  so 
sustaining  a  fictitious  credit,  and  pushing  trade  to  such  desperate 
lengths  under  it,  those  money-making  people  are  hkened  unto 
the  man  who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand — the  longer  he  has 
been  able  to  shore  it  up  (building  additional  storeys  on  it  all  the 
while)  the  greater  will  be  the  fall  of  it.     Secondly,  I  hold  that  in 
all  marches  and  counter-marches  of  the  human  race,  France  of 
right  leads  the  Van.     Your  Anglo-Saxon  race  worships  only 
money,  prays  to  no  other  god  than  money,  would  buy  and  sell 
the  Holy  Ghost  for  money,  and  beheves  that  the  world  was 
created,  is  sustained,  and  governed,  and  will  be  saved  by  the 
only  one  true,  immutable  Almighty  Pound  Sterling.      France 
recognises  a  higher  national  life,  aspires  fcr  ever  to  a  grander 
national  destiny  than  mere  trading.     France  mints  the  circu- 
latmg  medium  of  thoughts  and  noble  passions,  and  sets  up  poor 
nations  in  business  with  capital  of  that  stamp.     Paris  is  the 
great  moral  metropolis  of  mankind.     Thirdly,  Mein  Herr,  the 
French  have  no  right  to  stipulate  for  theii  own  "  happiness," 
while  they  discharge  this  high  public  duty.     Neither  for  man  nor 
nation  is  happiness  the  end  of  living — least  of  all  for  those  who 
utter  new  truths  and  lead  in  new  paths.     Let  a  nation  act  with 
all  the  energy  of  its  national  life — do  with  its  might  what  its 
hand  findeth  to  do — the  truth  it  has  got  to  utter  speak  it  in 
thunder.     Therein  let  it  find  its  "  happiness,"  or  nowhere. 

Doppelganger. — You  speak  as  if  France  were  fighting  the  repub- 
lican fight  for  all  the  world,  and  in  advance  of  all  the  world. 
Apparently  you  forget  America,  and  where  France  herself  went 
to  school  to  learn  republicanism.  At  any  rate,  the  United 
States  were  a  republic  before  ever  France  was  one. 

The  Ego. — And  San  Marino  before  the  United  States  ;  but  I 
was  speaking  of  the  great  ancient  nations  of  feudal  Europe,  and 
the  struggle  and  travail  that  is  appointed  them  before  they  can 
slough  off  the  coil  of  their  decrepit  or  dead  aristocracies  and 
heraldries,  which  have  come  to  be  humbugs — a  struggle  which 
the  United  States  never  knew,  nor  had  need  to  make  ;  for  those 
British  colonies  in  America,  once  the  yoke  of  King  George  was 
broken,  found  themselves  republics  by  the  necessity  of  the  case  ; 
they  had  no  material  there  whereout  to  form  any  other  sort  o^ 
6. 


82  JAIL  JOURNAL 

government.    The  difficulty  there  would  have  been  to  get  up  a 
dynasty — to  find  the  original  parents  out  of  whom  to  breed  an 
hereditary  aristocracy.     In  short,  external  circumstances  and 
agencies,  and  mere  necessity,  made  America  Republican.    But 
France — France,  with  all  her  circumstances,  habits,  traditions, 
tending  the  other  way ;    ancient  France,  Mother  of  Chivalry, 
heritage  of  Charlemagne's  peers,  environed  by  a  whole  world  of 
monarchism,  landlordism,  and  haughtiest  gentility — tearing  off 
the  clinging  curse,  trampling  it  under  foot,  and  fronting  the 
naked  swords  of  all  raging  Europe,  while  she  stood  forth  in  the 
simple  might  of  manhood,  uncrowned,  unfrocked,  untabarded, 
showing  what,  after  all,  men  can  do  ;  then,  after  her  own  hero, 
in  whom  she  trusted,  lifted  up  his  heel  against  her,  when  she 
was  hacked  and  hewn  almost  to  pieces  by  the  knives  of  allied 
butchers,  hag-ridden  by  the  horrid  ghost  of  a  dynasty,  and 
cheated  by  a  "  citizen  king," — cherishing  still,  deep  in  her  glow- 
ing heart,  the  great  idea,  through  long  years,  through  agonies 
and  sore  travail,  until  the  days  are  accompUshed  for  the  god-like 
birth — this,  I  apprehend,  is  another  kind  of  phenomenon  than  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.     And  we  ought  to  be  thankful  to 
the  good  God  (you  and  I)  that  we  live  in  the  days  when  we  may 
reasonably  hope  to  see  this  noble  work  consummated,  though  it 
be  in  flames  and  blood. 

Doppelganger. — You  say  nothing  in  answer  to  my  charge,  that 
all  this  enthusiasm  of  yours  is  mere  hatred  of  England. 

The  Ego. — No  ;  I  scorn  to  answer  that.  But  what  mean  you 
by  England  ? — the  EngUsh  people,  or  the  EngUsh  Government  ? 
Do  you  mean  those  many  milhons  of  honest  people  who  live  in 
England,  minding  their  own  business,  desiring  no  better  than  to 
enjoy,  in  peace  and  security,  the  fruits  of  their  own  industry, 
and  grievously  devoured  by  taxes  ?  Or  do  you  mean  the  unholy 
alliance  of  land  appropriators,  and  fund-men,  and  cotton-men, 
who  devour  them  ?  Do  you  mean  the  British  nation  ?  or  do 
you  mean  what  Cobbett  called  the  Thing? 

Doppelganger. — By  England  I  mean,  of  course,  all  her  people, 
and  all  her  institutions  :  tradesmen  and  nobles.  Church  and 
State,  weavers,  stockholders,  pitmen,  farmers,  factories,  funds, 
ships,  Carlton  clubs.  Chartist  conventions.  Dissenting  chapels, 
^(J  Epsom  races.    I  mean  that. 


W7'^^~ 


JAIL  JOURNAL  83 

The  Ego.— You  do  ?  Then  let  me  tell  you  it  is  a  very  unmean- 
ing kind  of  lumping  you  make  ;  I  hold  that  now,  and  for  fifty 
years  back,  the  best  friend  to  the  British  nation  is  simply  he  who 
approves  himself  the  bitterest  enemy  to  their  government,  and 
to  all  their  institutions,  in  Church  and  State.  And  thus  I  claim 
to  be,  not  an  enemy,  but  a  friend,  of  England ;  for  the  British 
people  are  what  /  call  England. 

Dpppelganger. — Excluding,  of  course,  those  cruel  capitalists, 
mill-owners,  landlords  ;  everybody,  in  short,  who  has  anything  ? 

TJie  Ego. — Excluding  nobody!  But  you  are  aware  that  in 
every  possible  condition  of  human  society,  no  matter  how  in- 
tolerable to  the  great  majority,  no  matter  how  grievously  it  may 
cry  aloud  for  change,  there  are  always  many  fat  persons  right 
well  content  with  things  as  they  are— to  wit,  those  who  thrive 
upon  things  as  they  are.  Why,  in  Ireland,  even,  are  many  grave 
and  well-dressed  persons  (I  have  seen  them  myself  in  Belfast,  and 
even  in  DubUn,  among  the  fed  classes) — ^who  say,  Ireland  is  doing 
reasonably  well,  and  likely  to  do  well.  Now,  in  speaking  of 
Ireland  and  the  Irish  people,  I  do  not  exclude  those  persons : 
only  set  at  naught  their  opinion,  and  set  aside  their  particular 
interests  in  consideration  of  the  vital  general  interest.  There- 
fore, when  I  say  that  I  would  cut  down  and  overthrow,  root  and 
branch,  the  whole  government  and  socisd  arrangements  of  Eng- 
land, I  am  entitled  also  to  call  myself  a  friend  to  the  EngUsh 
people,  to  all  the  English  people — yes,  to  the  very  money-men 
in  Lombard  Street,  to  the  very  dukes,  the  very  bishops — I  would 
make  them  all  turn  to  some  honest  occupation. 

Doppelganger. — ^Do  you  imagine  capitaUsts  eat  their  money, 
and  so  make  away  with  it  out  of  rerum  natura  ?  Or  that  land- 
proprietors  devour  and  digest  the  entire  produce  of  their  estates  ? 
Or,  in  short,  that  the  wealthy,  be  they  ever  so  malignant,  can  use 
their  riches  otherwise  than  by  employing  the  poor,  and  paying 
them  for  their  labour  ?  Or  do  you  propose  to  enable  all  the  poor 
to  live  without  labour  or  wages  ? 

The  Ego. — I  am  not  to  learn  from  you  first  principles  of 
political  economy,  taken  out  of  Dr.  Whately's  little  primer. 
Perhaps  you  will  next  be  urging  that  mill-owners  are  not,  by 
nature,  anthropophagous,  and  that  landlords  are  not,  by  anatomi- 
cal structure,  hyaenas,  but  men.    Let  us  suppose  all  those  matters 


€4  JAIL  JOURNAL 

you  have  mentioned,  just  proved,  admitted,  put  out  of  the  way  : 
they  are  nothing  to  the  purpose.  But  the  case  is  this — those  you 
call  capitaUsts  are,  as  a  body,  swindlers — that  is  to  say,  the  "  com- 
mercial world  "  is  trading  on  what  it  knows  to  be  fictitious  capital, 
— keeping  up  a  bankrupt  firm  by  desperate  shifts,  partly  out  of 
mere  terror  at  the  thought  of  the  coming  crash,  and  partly  because 
— what  often  happens  in  bankruptcy — those  who  are  active  in  the 
business  are  making  their  private  gains  in  the  meantime  out  (^  the 
already  dilapidated  estate — and  all  this  is  but  preparing  for  a 
heavier  fall  and  wider-spreading  rum — the  more  undoubting  con- 
fidence in  the  stability  of  the  concern  is  felt  by  fools  and  pretended 
by  knaves,  so  much  the  greater  number  of  innocent  and  ignorant 
people  will  have  their  homes  desolated  at  last.  Again,  I  say  that 
fifty  years  ago  the  Crown  and  Realm  of  Britain  was  a  bankrupt 
firm,  and  that  the  hollow  credit  system  on  which  it  has  kept 
itself  afloat  is  a  gigantic  piece  of  national  swindUng — which  must 
end  not  in  ruin  merely,  but  in  utter  national  disgrace  also. 

Doppelganger. — Ah  !  The  nation  is  swindling  itself  then  !  I 
perceive  you  think  England  must  be  ruined  by  the  national  debt 
— that  huge  sum  of  money  due  by  herself  to  herself. 

The  Ego. — Yes — due  by  England  to  herself  ;  that  is  to  say,  due 
by  the  millions  of  tax-payers  to  the  thousands  who  have  interest 
enough  to  get  themselves  made  tax-eaters — that  is  to  say,  due  by 
the  workers  to  the  idlers — due  by  the  poor  to  the  rich — yet,  in- 
credible to  tell,  incurred  and  created  at  first  by  the  idlers  and  the 
rich,  to  sustain  a  state  of  things  which  keeps  them  idle  and  rich. 
In  short,  over  and  above  the  eternal  inequalities  of  condition  in 
human  society,  which  for  ever  doom  the  many  to  labour  that  the 
few  may  eat  and  sleep,  over  and  above  this,  British  policy  has 
thrown  an  additional  burden  of  eight  hundred  milUons  or  so  upon 
the  working  many — placed  an  item  of  that  amount  on  the  wrong 
side  of  the  account — to  make  the  workers,  I  suppose,  work 
the  better — to  make  them  look  sharp,  and  mind  economy — lest 
they  should  wax  fat  and  kick,  possibly  kick  down  the  whole 
Thing. 

Doppelganger. — But,  after  all,  the  main  question  as  to  this 
national  debt  is,  whether  the  objects  for  which  it  was  incurred 
were  to  the  nation  worth  the  money,  or  rather  worth  the  incon- 
venience of  owing  the  money  and  burdening  the  industry  of  the 


JAIL  JOURNAL  85 

country  with  the  interest  of  it.     England  was  certainly  saved 
from   invasion — her    vast    commerce    and    manufactures  

The  Ego. — Yes,  England  was  saved  from  invasion  ;  her"  institu- 
tions in  Church  and  State,  from  ruin  ;  her  game-preserving 
aristocracy  from  abolition  and  the  lamp-iron  ;  her  commerce  and 
manufactures  were  kept  going  on  a  fictitious  basis — and  India, 
Canada,  Ireland,  were  debarred  of  their  freedom.  These  are  the 
things  for  which  the  eight  hundred  millions  were  sqiiandered — 
and  instead  of  incurring  a  never-to-be-paid  debt  to  avert  all  those 
sad  events,  I  tell  you  that,  to  the  English  people,  it  had  been 
worth  many  a  miUion  to  effect  them — every  one — to  the  Irish 
people  worth  the  best  blood  in  their  veins. 

Doppdganger. — But  why  do  you  keep  sajdng  fictitious  basis, 
fictitious  capital  ?  What  is  there  fictitious  in  all  this  commerce  ? 
Does  it  not  hold  myriads  of  men  employed  ?  Does  it  not  pay 
them  in  hard  money  every  Saturday  ?  Does  it  not  keep  their 
families  in  comfortable  houses,  and  clothe  and  feed  them  as 
only  the  families  of  British  artisans  can  pretend  to  be  clothed 
and  fed  ?  Does  it  not  enable  them  to  save  money  and  realise 
an  independence  for  their  old  age  ? 

The  Ego. — How  do  they  invest  their  savings  ?    In  bu5dng  land  ? 

Doppdganger. — No  ;  you  know  well  that  small  properties  of 
land  are  not  a  common  commodity  in  the  market.  The  soil  of 
the  British  islands  is  not  just  yet  cut  up  into  httle  fee-farms : 
your  revolution  has  to  come  yet. 

The  Ego. — How  then  do  these  hard-working  men  secure  the 
money  they  have  reaUsed,  as  you  tell  me,  for  an  independence 
in  their  old  age  ? 

Doppelganger. — Why,  in  the  public  funds — or,  in  the  savings- 
banks,  which  invest  it  for  them  in  the  same  funds.  And  I 
beheve,  when  they  wish  to  draw  out  their  deposits,  those  banks 
generally  pay  them  without  demur. 

The  Ego. — They  do — the  insolvent  State  has  not  yet  shut  its 
doors.  Yet  I  do  affirm  that  these  poor  honest  people  are  lajdng 
up  their  savings  in  a  fund  beyond  the  moon — they  take  deben- 
tures on  the  limbo  of  fools.  Why,  the  last  holders  of  these 
securities  will  all  inevitably  be  robbed ;  that  grand  national 
swindle,  which  is  called  the  "  national  credit  "  (and  to  keep  up 
the  "  stabiUty  "  of  which  all  newspapers  and  organs  of  opinioi^ 


86  JAIL  JOURNAL 

are  subsidised  to  express  confidence,  and  to  vaunt  daily  the 
infinite  resources  of  the  empire) — that  national  credit  swindle  will 
cheat  them  irremediably  at  last.  There  is  no  money,  or  other 
wealth,  in  those  same  funds  :  there  is  absolutely  nothing  to  meet 
these  poor  people's  claims — nothing  but  confidence — and  they  are 
exchanging  their  hard  earnings  for  draughts  of  east  wind. 

Doppelganger. — But  how  well,  how  wonderfully  it  works ! 
Consider  how  many  people  Uve  comfortably  on  the  yearly  produce 
of  these  same  debentures,  zind  bequeath  them  to  their  children,  or 
exchange  them  for  farms  and  merchandise — and  never  know  that 
the  notes  are  but  drafts  of  Notus  and  Company  upon  Eurus  and 
Sons.  Consider  the  amount  of  gainful  business  actually  done 
upon  this  great  national  credit — the  vast  interests  that  depend 
upon  it.  Why  may  it  not  go  on  and  expand  itself  infinitely,  or, 
at  least,  indefinitely  ? 

The  Ego. — Because,  Because  it  is  the  inevitable  fate  of  mere 
sublunary  soap-bubbles  to  burst,  when  they  are  blown  to  a  certain 
predestined  bigness — because  a  lie,  be  it  never  so  current,  ac- 
cepted, endorsed,  and  renewed  many  times,  is  quite  sure  (thank 
God  !)  to  get  protested  at  last.  Is  it  not  so  written  in  the  great 
book  of  noster  Thomas  ? — Written  also  in  the  yet  greater  books  of 
nature  and  history,  with  an  iron  pen  ? — "  Great  is  Bankruptcy." 

Doppelganger. — Suppose  all  this  is  true — I,  at  least,  cannot 
think,  without  pain,  of  the  inevitable  destruction  of  all  this 
teeming  hfe  and  healthy,  glowing  action.  It  is  a  bright  and 
stirring  scene. 

The  Ego. — ^But  look  well  at  the  background  of  this  fine  scene  ; 
and  lo  !  the  reeky  shanks  and  yellow  chapless  skulls  of  Skibbereen ! 
— and  the  ghosts  of  starved  Hindoos  in  dusky  millions. 

Doppelganger. — Surely  these  sore  evils  are  not  incurable — ^by 
wise  administration,  by  enlightened  legislation  :  the  ghosts  and 
skeletons  are  not  an  essential  part  of  the  picture  ;  not  necessary 
to  the  main  action  of  the  piece. 

The  Ego.- — Absolutely  necessary — nay,  becoming  more  and 
more  necessary  every  hour.  To  uphold  the  stability  of  the  grand 
central  fraud,  British  policy  must  drain  the  blood  and  suck  the 
marrow  of  all  the  nations  it  can  fasten  its  desperate  claws  upon  : 
and  by  the  very  nature  of  a  bankrupt  concern  sustaining  itself 
on  false  credit,  its  exertions  must  grow  more  desperate,  its 


WP^' 


JAIL  JOURNAL  8y 

exactions  more  ruthless  day  by  day,  until  the  mighty  smash 
come.  The  great  British  Thing  cannot  now  do  without  any  one 
of  the  usual  sources  of  plunder.  The  British  Empire  (that  is,  the 
imaginary  Funds)  could  not  now  stand  a  week  without  India — 
could  not  breathe  an  hour  without  Ireland :  the  Thing  has 
strained  itself  to  such  a  pass  that  (being  a  sublunary  soap-bubble, 
and  not  a  crystaUine  celestial  sphere),  the  smallest  jag  will  let 
the  wind  out  of  it,  and  then  it  must  ignominiously  collapse.  Or 
you  may  call  this  abomination  a  pyramid  balancing  itself  upon 
its  apex — one  happy  kick  on  any  side  will  turn  it  upside  down. 
For  ever  blessed  be  the  toe  of  that  boot  which  shall  administer 
the  glorious  kick ! 

Doppelganger. — ^And  must  every  new  order  of  things  in  the 
revolutions  of  eternity  be  brought  about  only  through  a  fierce 
paroxysm  of  war  ?  Let  your  mind  dwell  for  a  minute  on  the 
real  horrors  of  war. 

The  Ego. — Let  your  mind  dwell  a  moment  on  the  horrors  of 
peaceful  and  constitutional  famine ;  it  will  need  no  effort  of 
imagination,  for  you  have  seen  the  thing — and  tell  me  which  is 
better,  to  pine  and  whiten  helplessly  into  cold  clay,  pasMng 
slowly,  painfully  through  the  stages  of  hungry  brute-ferocity — 
passionless,  drivelling,  slavering  idiocy,  and  dim  awful  uncon- 
sciousness, the  shadow-haimted  confines  of  life  and  death,  or  to 
pour  out  your  full  soul  in  all  its  pride  and  might  with  a  hot 
torrent  of  red  raging  blood — triumphant  defiance  in  your  eye, 
and  an  appeal  to  heaven's  justice  on  your  lips — animam  exhalare 
opimam  ?  Which  ?  Nay,  whether  is  it  better  that  a  thousand 
men  perish  in  a  nation  by  tame  beggarly  famine,  or  that  fifty 
thousand  fall  in  a  just  war  ?  Which  is  the  more  hideous  evil — 
three  seasons  of  famine-slaughter  in  the  midst  of  heaven's 
abundance,  at  the  point  of  foreign  bayonets,  with  all  its  train  of 
debasing  diseases  and  more  debasing  vices,  or  a  thirty  years'  war 
to  scourge  the  stranger  from  your  soil,  though  it  leave  that  soil  a 
smoking  wilderness  ?  If  you  have  any  doubt  which  is  more 
horrible,  look  on  Ireland  this  day.  "  They  that  be  slain  with  the 
sword,"  saith  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  "  are  better  than  they  that 
be  slain  with  hunger  ;  for  these  pine  away,  stricken  through  for 
want  of  the  fruits  of  the  field." 

Doppelganger. — ^I  cannot  see  the  absolute  necessity  of  either. 


8S  JAIL  jOUkNAL 

Those  good  people  may  not  be  mere  idiots,  after  all,  who  look  fof* 
ward  to  the  total  cessation  of  war. 
The  Ego. — 

Ov  yap  TTtU  TovT   eoTt  <f>i\ov  fiaKapca-a-i  deourv 
4>vAo7ri8os  Xrj^ai  irpiv  K€V  Xvkos  oiv  vfKvaioi. 

See  Aristophanes.     Let  me  also  refer  you  to  the  Homeric  verse — 

Doppelganger. — Let  me  have  none  of  your  college  quotations. 

The  Ego.- — Then  give  me  none  of  your  confounded  cant  about 
cessation  of  war.  Nature  has  laws.  Because  the  Irish  have 
been  taught  peaceful  agitation  in  their  slavery,  therefore  they  have 
been  swept  by  a  plague  of  hunger  worse  than  many  years  of 
bloody  fighting.  Because  they  would  not  fight,  they  have  been 
made  to  rot  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  that  so  they  might  learn  at 
last  how  deadly  a  sin  is  patience  and  perseverance  under  a 
stranger's  yoke. 

Doppelganger.- — I  hear  you  say  so  ;  but  I  want  some  reasons. 
Nature  has  laws  ;  but  you  are  not  their  infallible  interpreter. 
Can  you  argue  ?     Can  you  render  a  reason  ? 

The  Ego. — I  never  do.  It  is  all  assertion.  I  declaim  vehem- 
ently ;  I  dogmatise  vigorously,  but  argue  never.  You  have  my 
thought.  I  don't  want  you  to  agree  with  me  ;  you  can  take  it 
or  leave  it. 

Doppelganger. — Satisfactory  ;  but  I  find  the  Irish  people  draw 
quite  a  different  moral  lesson  from  late  events.  They  are  becom- 
ing, apparently,  more  moral  and  constitutional  than  ever ;  and 
O'Connell's  son  points  to  "  Young  Ireland,"  hunted,  chained, 
condemned,  transported,  and  says  :  "  Behold  the  fate  of  those 
who  would  have  made  us  depart  from  the  legal  and  peaceful 
doctrines  of  the  Liberator  !  "    And  they  hearken  to  him. 

The  Ego. — And  do  you  read  Ireland's  mind  in  the  canting  of 
O'Connell's  son  ?  or  in  the  sullen  silence  of  a  gagged  and  disarmed 
people  ?  Tell  me  not  of  O'Connell's  son.  His  father  begat  him 
in  moral  force,  and  in  patience  and  perseverance  did  his  mother 
conceive  him.  I  swear  to  you  there  are  blood  and  brain  in 
Ireland  yet,  as  the  world  one  day  shall  know.  God  !  let  me  live 
to  see  it.  On  that  great  day  of  the  Lord,  when  the  kindred 
and  tongues  and  naftions  of  the  old  earth  shall  give  their  banners 
to  the  wind,  let  this  poor  carcase  have  but  breath  and  strength 
enough  to  stand  under  Ireland's  immortal  Green ! 


'^■Mppnpf^iiiuuv  .jpipjiiiiijii,.* 


JAIL  JOURNAL  89 

Doppelganger. — ^Do  you  allude  to  the  battle  of  Armageddon  ? 
I  know  you  have  been  reading  the  Old  Testament  of  late. 

The  Ego.— Yes.  "  Who  is  this  that  cometh  from  Edom  :  with 
dyed  garments  from  Bozrah  ?  This  that  is  glorious  in  his  apparel, 
travelling  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength  ?  Wherefore  art  thou 
red  in  thine  apparel,  and  thy  garments  Uke  him  that  treadeth  in 
the  wine  vat  ?  I  have  trodden  the  wine-press  alone,  and  of  the 
people  there  was  none  with  me  :  for  I  will  tread  them  in  mine 
anger  and  trample  them  in  my  fury,  and  their  blood  shall  be 
sprinkled  upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain  all  my  raiment. 
For  the  day  of  vengeance  is  in  my  heart."  Also  an  aspiration  of 
King  David  haunts  my  memory  when  I  think  on  Ireland  and  her 
wrongs  :  "  That  thy  foot  may  he  dipped  in  the  blood  of  thine  enemies, 
and  that  the  tongue  of  thy  dogs  may  be  red  through  the  same." 

Doppelganger. — Anathema  !    What  a  grisly  frame  of  mind  ! 

The  Ego. — Ah  !  the  atmosphere  of  the  world  needs  to  be  cleared 
by  a  wholesome  tornado.  The  nimble  air  has  grown  obese  and 
heavy  ;  charged  with  azote  and  laden  with  the  deleterious  mias- 
mata of  all  the  cants  that  are  canted.  Tell  me,  do  you  beheve, 
or  rather  understand,  that  these  neighbouring  West  Indian 
islands  would  soon  be  uninhabitable  to  any  hving  creature  save 
caymans  and  unclean  beasts,  but  for  an  occasional  hurricane  ? 

Doppelganger. — Very  true  ;  and  I  observe  the  analogy.  But  I 
do  not  imderstand  that  men  in  the  West  Indies  get  up  hurri- 
canes, or  pray  to  heaven  for  hurricanes.  Remember  that  God, 
in  the  hollow  of  whose  hand  is  the  cave  of  all  the  winds,  sends 
forth  His  storms  when  He  sees  fit. 

The  Ego. — And  His  wars  also.  The  difference  lies  only  in  the 
secondary  agencies  whereby  the  Almighty  works  :  when  tornadoes 
are  wanted  to  purify  the  material  atmosphere.  He  musters  and 
embattles  the  tropic  air-currents  from  Cancer  to  Capricomus,  be 
they  moist,  dry,  dense,  or  rare,  under  their  several  cloud-banners  ; 
and  at  the  blowing  of  the  thunder-trumpet  they  rush  bhndly  to- 
gether, crashing  calamitously  through  cane  plantations,  blowing 
the  sails  off  sugar-mills,  and  desolating  colonial  banks— but  when 
the  moral  tornado  has  to  blow  upon  the  earth^ — when  wars  and 
revolutions  (the  truest  moral  force)  are  needed  to  purify  and 
vivify  a  comatose  world,  then  Providence  uses  another  kind  of 
power — to  wit,  Man.    For  not  more  surely,  not  more  absolutely 


90  JAIL  JOURNAL 

are  the  winds  enclosed  in  the  hollow  of  the  Almighty  hand,  than 
are  the  gusts  and  tempests  of  mortal  passion,  or  even  what  we 
deem  our  coolest  and  best  regulated  resolves  :  and  when  strong 
indignation  against  oppression,  when  pity,  and  pride,  and  sacred 
wrath  have  grown  transcendental  in  divine  rage  against  falsehood 
and  wrong,  and  arm  for  desperate  battle  against  some  hoary 
iniquity,  then  charge  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  ! 

Doppelganger. — But  a  mistake  may  occur.  In  your  high- 
blazing  transcendent  fury  you  may  chance  to  be  fighting  the 
devil's  fight. 

The  Ego. — Be  that  at  the  peril  of  every  man  who  goeth  up  to 
the  battle. 

Doppelganger. — Enough,  enough !  I  seem  to  smell  the  steam 
of  carnage.  I  envy  you  not  your  bloody  dreams.  Though  all 
this  were  as  you  argue — 

The  Ego. — I  do  not  argue. 

Doppelganger. — ^Well,  as  you  harangue  ;  yet  one  is  not  obliged 
to  deUght  in  the  storm  of  human  wrath  and  vengeance,  any  more 
than  in  the  wasting  tornado.  Though  it  must  be  that  this 
offence  come,  woe  unto  him  by  whom  it  cometh  !  Oh  !  pity  and 
woe,  if  the  same  be  his  chosen  mission,  wherein  his  soul  deUghts. 
In  such  gloating  over  thoughts  of  dying  groans  and  hoof-trampled 
corpses,  and  garments  rolled  in  blood,  there  is  something  ghastly 
something  morbid,  monomaniacal — ^to  you  surely  something  un- 
natural, for  you  have  always  lived  peaceably.  And  though  we 
were  very  Manichaeans,  and  believed  that  the  principle  of  destruc- 
tion, disorder,  and  darkness  were  for  ever  to  maintain  unextin- 
guishable  and  infinite  battle  with  the  spirit  of  Order  and  of 
Good,  yet  I  cannot  think  he  chooses  the  better  part  who  enUsts 
under  the  banner  of  Ahriman— who  loves  to  destroy,  and  builds 
— creates — nothing. 

The  Ego. — Hearken  once  more,  O  Double-goer !  Consider 
how  this  habitable  earth,  with  all  its  rock-built  moimtains  and 
flowery  plains,  is  for  ever  growing  and  perishing  in  eternal  birth 
and  death — consider  how  the  winds,  and  lightnings,  and  storms  of 
rain  and  hail,  and  flooded  rivers,  and  lashing  seas  are  for  ever 
cutting,  mining,  gnawing  away,  confringing,  coUiding  and  com- 
minuting the  hills  and  the  shores,  yea,  and  the  sites  of  high-domed 
cities — until  every  mountain  shall  be  brought  low,  £md  every 


lpii^;;npfpp^CR^papilinpi^^?^;»qn\«<';<'^7^V'^:'^^':>'>^'  ""-.'w.^nii.iwi''i>H4i,"»";-'a'.".«"."."i;-w;..«i'r'  „ 


JAIL  JOURNAL  91 

capital  city  shall  lie  deep  "  at  the  bottom  of  the  monstrous  world," 
where  Hehce  and  Buris,  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  he  now — this,  I 
suppose,  you  call  destruction — ^but  consider  further  how  the 
nether  fires  are  daily  and  nightly  forging,  in  the  great  central 
furnaces,  new  granite  mountains,  even  out  of  that  old  worn 
rubbish  ;  and  new  plains  are  spreading  themselves  forth  in  the 
deep  sea,  bearing  harvests  now  only  of  tangled  algcB,  but  destined 
to  wave  with  yellow  com  ;  and  currents  of  brine  are  hollowing 
out  foul  sunless  troughs,  choked  with  obscene  sUme,  but  one  day 
to  be  fair  river- valleys  blushing  with  purple  clusters.  Now  in  all 
this  wondrous  procedure  can  you  dare  to  pronounce  that  the 
winds,  and  the  lightnings,  which  tear  down,  degrade,  destroy, 
execute  a  more  ignoble  office  than  the  volcanoes  and  subter- 
ranean deeps  that  upheave,  renew,  recreate  ?  Are  the  nether 
fires  holier  than  the  upper  fires  ?  The  waters  that  are  above  the 
firmament,  do  they  hold  of  Ahriman,  and  i^ie  waters  that  are 
below  the  firmament,  of  Ormuzd  ?  Do  you  take  up  a  reproach 
against  the  hghtnings  for  that  they  only  shatter  and  shiver,  but 
never  construct !  Or  have  you  a  quarrel  with  the  winds  because 
they  fight  against  the  churches,  and  build  them  not !  In  all 
nature,  spiritual  and  physical,  do  you  not  see  that  some  powers 
and  agents  have  it  for  their  function  to  abolish  and  demolish  and 
derange — other  some  to  construct  and  set  in  order  ?  But  is  not 
the  destruction,  then,  as  natural,  as  needful,  as  the  construction  ? 
— Rather  tell  me,  I  pray  you,  which  is  construction — which  de- 
struction ?     This  destruction  is  creation  :  Death  is  Birth  and 

"  The  quick  spring  like  weeds  out  of  the  dead." 

Go  to — the  revolutionary  Leveller  is  your  only  architect.  There- 
fore take  courage,  all  you  that  Jacobins  be,  and  stand  upon  your 
rights,  and  do  your  appointed  work  with  all  your  strength,  let 
the  canting  fed  classes  rave  and  shriek  as  they  will — where  you 
see  a  respectable,  fair-spoken  Lie  sitting  in  high  places,  feeding 
itself  fat  on  human  sacrifices — down  with  it,  strip  it  naked,  and 
pitch  it  to  the  demons  :  wherever  you  see  a  greedy  tyranny  (con- 
stitutional or  other)  grinding  the  faces  of  the  poor,  join  battle 
with  it  on  the  spot — conspire,  confederate,  and  combine  against 
it,  resting  never  till  the  huge  mischief  come  down,  though  the 
whole  "  structure  of  society  "  come  down  along  with  it.    Never 


9*.  JAIL  JOURNAL 

you  mind  funds  and  stocks  ;  if  the  price  of  the  things  called 
consols  depend  on  lies  and  fraud,  down  with  them  too.  *  Take  no 
heed  of  "  social  disorganisation  "  ;  you  cannot  bring  back  chaos 
— never  fear  ;  ro  disorganisation  in  the  world  can  be  so  complete 
but  there  will  be  a  germ  of  new  order  in  it :  sansculottism,  when 
she  hath  conceived,  will  bring  forth  venerable  institutions. 
Never  spare  ;  work  joyfully  according  to  your  nature  and  func- 
tion ;  and  when  your  work  is  effectually  done,  and  it  is  time  for 
the  counter  operations  to  begin,  why,  then,  you  can  fall  a-con- 
structing,  if  you  have  a  gift  that  way  ;  if  not,  let  others  do  their 
work,  and  take  your  rest,  having  discharged  your  duty.  Courage, 
Jacobins  !  for  ye,  too,  are  ministers  of  heaven. 

Doppelganger. — In  one  word,  you  wish  me  to  beUeve  that  your 
desire  to  plunge  your  country  into  deluges  of  slaughter  arises  out 
of  philosophical  considerations  altogether. 

The  Ego. — ^Entirply :  I  prescribe  copious  blood-letting  upon 
strictly  therapeutical  principles. 

Doppelganger. — And  revenge  upon  England,  for  your  own 
private  wrong,  has  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

The  Ego. — Revenge  1  Private  wrong  !  Tell  me  !  are  not  my 
aims  and  desires  now  exactly  what  they  were  two  years  ago, 
before  I  had  any  private  wrong  at  all  ?  Do  you  perceive  any 
difference  even  in  point  of  intensity  ?  In  truth,  as  to  the  very 
conspirators  who  made  me  a  "  felon,"  and  locked  me  up  here,  I 
can  feel  no  personal  hostility  against  them  :  for,  personally,  I 
know  them  not — never  saw  Lord  John  Russell  or  Lord  Clarendon  ; 
would  not  wiUingly  hurt  them  if  I  could.  I  do  beheve  myself 
incapable  of  desiring  private  vengeance  ;  at  least  I  have  never 
yet  suffered  any  private  wrong  atrocious  enough  to  stir  up  that 
sleeping  passion.  The  vengeance  I  seek  is  the  righting  of  my 
country's  wrong,  which  includes  my  own.  Ireland,  indeed,  needs 
vengeance  ;  but  this  is  pubUc  vengeance — pubhc  justice.  Herein 
England  is  truly  a  great  public  criminal.  England  !  all  England, 
operating  through  her  Government :  through  all  her  organised 
and  effectual  public  opinion,  press,  platform,  pulpit,  parhament, 
has  done,  is  doing,  and  means  to  do,  grievous  wrong  to  Ireland. 
She  must  be  punished  ;  that  pmiishment  will,  as  I  believe,  come 
upon  her  by  and  through  Ireland  ;  and  so  will  Ireland  be  avenged. 
*'  Nations  are  chastised  for  their  crimes  in  this  world  ;  they  have 


wy^srw-**;^^ 


JAIL  JOURNAL  93 

no  future  state."  And  never  object  that  so  the  innocent  children 
would  be  scourged  for  what  the  guilty  fathers  did ;  it  is  so  for 
ever.  A  profligate  father  may  go  on  sinning  prosperously  all  his 
days,  with  high  hand  and  heart,  and  die  in  triumphant  iniquity  ; 
but  his  children  are  born  to  disease,  poverty,  misery  of  mind, 
body  and  estate.  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the 
children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge.  Mysterious  are  the  works  and 
ways  of  God.  Punishment  of  England,  then,  for  the  crimes  of 
England — this  righteous  pubUc  vengeance  I  seek,  and  shall  seek. 
Let  but  justice  be  done  ;  let  Ireland's  wrong  be  righted,  and  the 
wrong  done  to  me  and  mine  is  more  than  avenged ;  for  the  whole 
is  greater  than  its  part.  Now,  Mein  Herr,  you  have  my  theory 
of  vengeance  ;  and  for  such  vengeance  I  do  vehemently  thirst 
and  burn. 

Doppelganger  (musing). — He  has  a  great  deal  of  reason  ;  I  do 
begin  to  be  of  his  opinion. 

The  Ego. — Yes  ;  we  generally  come  to  be  of  one  mind  in  the 
long  run.  But  it  grows  late,  and  we  have  talked  long  enough. 
Let  us  drink  our  rum-ration  ;  and  I  will  propose  to  you  a  national 
toast — {rising  up  and  speaking  solemnly) — "Arterial  Drainage." 

Doppelganger — {with  enthusiasm). — "  Arterial  Drainage  !  " 

The  Ego. — Good  night. 

Doppelganger. — Hark !  I  hear  the  first  mate  coming  with  his 
keys.     Good  night. 

{Doppelganger  flies  out  of  the  port-hole,  between  the  bars.  The 
Ego  tumbles  into  bed.) 


CHAPTER  VI 

Nov.  20th,  1848 — In  my  cell  on  hoard  the  "  Dromedary"  Hulk. — 
The  whole  convict  Dotndaniel  is  fluttered  in  its  dove-cotes  this 
morning.    Three  prisoners  escaped  last  night  from  the  Coromandel 
hulk,  close  by  my  residence.    There  is  school  on  board  these  hulks 
on  certain  evenings  in  the  week,  attended  by  such  of  the  convicts 
as  choose  to  learn  ;  and  last  night  was  school  night  in  the  Coro- 
mandel.    These  three  men,  one  after  another,  asked  leave  to  go 
out  upon  the  breakwater  after  dark,  and  as  it  rained  furiously  no 
guard  went  with  them.    They  ran  to  that  end  of  the  breakwater 
which,  as  it  juts  out  into  the  sea,  is  not  guarded  by  a  sentry,  swam 
in  their  clothes  across  the  entrance  of  the  camber,  and  betook 
themselves  to  the  country.   Alarm  was  given  instantly,  and  guards 
were  out  in  all  directions.    One  of  the  three  was  caught,  but  the 
two  others  are  still  at  large.    They  have  the  range  of  all  the 
islands,  which  are  so  near  one  another  that  one  can  easily  swim 
over  all  the  straits  :  and  these  limestone  rocks  are,  of  course,  full 
of  caves  by  the  seaside,  so  that  it  may  be  difficult  to  find  them  for 
a  while.    It  seems  they  proceeded,  in  the  first  place,  to  rob  a  house 
and  store,  frightening  the  inmates  nearly  to  death,  and  supplying 
themselves  with  biscuit  and  rum  :  then  they  seized  on  a  boat,  and 
actually  attempted  to  put  to  sea  for  North  America.    If  they  had 
once  got  clear  of  the  islands  they  would  probably  have  reached 
Charleston  or  the  Chesapeake  (as  four  convicts  did  in  a  common 
gig  last  year) — but  their  boat  stuck  fast  upon  a  sandbank,  and  she 
was  foimd  there,  abandoned,  this  morning.     The  men  must  still 
be  upon  the  islands,  because  no  other  boat  is  missing.    To-day 
the  pursuit  is  very  hot :  the  several  telegraph  stations  have  the 
signal  hoisted  all  day — "  Prisoners  escaped."     All  boats  are  now 
put  under  surveillance ;  and  I  suppose  the  unfortunate  scoundrels 
must  be  taken.     They  will  be  simply  flayed  alive. 

21st. — Weary  guards  home  to-day  at  daybreak — with  no  trace 
or  intelligence  of  the  fugitives.  The  governor  has  now  ordered 
out  the  troops  ;  and  every  cove,  cavern,  and  cedar- wood  in  his 

94 


'    jji^.m«v,MiiP(  ,ii,VHr'<'J'V*' ■.■'r-'^T 


/^/L  JOURNAL  95 

dominions  will  be  thoroughly  explored  within  twenty-four  hours. 
It  seems  that  Capt.  Elliott  looks  upon  this  escape  as  a  thing  of 
most  dangerous  example,  occurring  while  he  is  honoured  with 
the  custody  of  me.  I  trust  the  wretches  will  get  clear  off ; 
otherwise  they  will  be  savagely  punished. 

22nd. — ^They  are  caught,  and  brought  back  in  heavy  irons.  One 
of  them  was  found  dressed  in  a  woman's  clothes.  The  Governor 
came  this  morning  in  person  to  Ireland  Island,  though  it  is  Sun- 
day, to  give  special  orders  about  the  mangUng  of  these  culprits 
to-morrow.  It  is  to  be  a  most  solemn  and  terrific  butchery. 
Heretofore  every  delinquent  was  flogged  on  board  his  own  hulk  ; 
but  these  three  men  are  to  be  flayed  in  all  the  three  hulks,  one 
after  another,  receiving  twenty  lashes  in  each — sixty  altogether. 

Mr.  Hire,  the  governor's  deputy,  is  highly  important  to-day  : 
he  always  presides  on  such  occasions,  and  is  said  rather  to  hke 
them.  He  is  a  stem  old  naval  officer — has  been  superintendent 
here  twenty-four  years — and  holds  that  the  Palladium  of  the 
British  Constitution  is  a  good  cat  of  nine  heavy  cords,  on  every 
cord  nine  hard  knots.  On  this  point  of  constitutional  law  I 
differ  from  him  :  the  true  Palladia  of  that  immortal  Constitution 
are  a  suspended  Habeas  Corpus,  and  a  pretended  trial  by  jury. 

I  do  not  love  this  old  naval  officer,  although  he  has  always  been 
• — after  the  first  day — quite  courteous  to  me.  Ancient  habits,  and 
twenty-four  years'  supreme  rule  over  convict  desperadoes,  have 
given  him  an  imperious  manner  :  besides,  I  always  fancy  that  he 
exhales  an  odour  of  blood.  At  first  he  used  to  eye  my  cap 
uneasily  whenever  he  addressed  me,  as  if  he  imagined  I  ought  to 
take  it  off,  or  at  least  touch  it — an  old  Carthaginian  sea-dog! 
But  I  ought  not  to  call  him  bad  names  ;  for  he  has  lent  m^  many 
books,  and  on  the  whole  is  as  civil  to  me  as  his  nature  will  allow 
him  ;  seems  also  reconciled  to  the  sight  of  my  hat  upon  its 
right  place. 

I  wish  to-morrow  were  over. 

2^rd. — The  laceration  is  finished.  The  gangs  are  sent  out  to 
their  work  after  being  mustered  to  witness  the  example  :  the 
troops  who  were  drawn  up  on  the  pier  have  marched  home  to 
their  barracks  :  quarter-masters  and  guards  have  washed  the 
blood-gouts  from  their  arms  and  faces,  and  arranged  their  dress 
a^^ain  :  the  three  topi  carcases  have  been  carried  down  half-dead 


96  JAIL  JOURNAL 

to  the  several  hospital-rooms.  Though  shut  up  in  my  cell  all 
the  time,  I  heard  the  horrid  screams  of  one  man  plainly.  After 
being  lashed  in  the  Medway,  they  had  all  been  carried  to  this 
ship,  with  blankets  thrown  over  their  bloody  backs  :  and  the 
first  of  them,  after  receiving  a  dozen  blows  with  miserable  shrieks, 
grew  weak  and  swooned  :  the  scourging  stopped  for  about  ten 
minutes  while  the  surgeon  used  means  to  revive  him — and  then 
he  had  the  remainder  of  his  allowance.  He  was  then  carried 
groaning  out  of  this  ship  into  the  Coromandel,  instantly  stripped 
again,  and  cross  scarified  with  other  twenty  lashes.  The  other 
two  men  took  their  punishment  throughout  in  silence — but  I 
heard  one  of  them  shout  once  fiercely  to  the  quarter-master, 

"  Don't  cut  below  the  mark,  d you !  "     I  have  been  walking 

up  and  down  my  cell  gnawing  my  tongue. 

Not  that  I  think  it  wrong  to  flog  convicted  felons  when  needful 
for  preservation  of  discipline.  But  think  of  soldiers  and  sailors 
being  liable  to  be  beaten  like  hounds  !  Are  high  spirit  and  manly 
self-respect  allowable  feelings  in  soldiers  and  sailors  ?  And  can 
high  spirit  Survive  the  canine  punishment  of  scourging  ?  In  the 
Carthaginian  service,  indeed,  those  sentiments  are  not  allowable  ; 
private  soldiers  and  ssiilors  and  non-commissioned  officers  are  not 
to  consider  themselves  men,  but  machines. 

But  when  even  felons  are  getting  mangled,  I  had  rather,  as  a 
matter  of  personal  taste,  be  out  of  hearing. 

Dec.  isi. — It  is  six  months  this  morning  since  I  sailed  out  of 
Cork  harbour  in  the  Scourge.  The  weather  has  grown  gloomy 
and  cold.  A  Bermudian  winter,  though  not  absolutely  so  cold  by 
the  thermometer,  is  far  more  trying  than  good  honest  frost  and 
snow  in  Ireland.  The  winds  are  very  damp,  d^nk,  and  raw,  pier- 
cing through  joints  and  marrow.  And,  to  tell  the  plain  truth,  I 
am  very  ill,  and  do  not  sleep  o'  nights — for  nearly  two  months  I 
have  had  very  constant  and  severe  asthma,  especially  by  night,  and 
have  been  fully  thrice  in  every  week,  one  week  with  another, 
obUged  to  sit  on  a  chair  all  night  through — and  that  in  the  dark 
and  the  cold.  I  am  grown  ghastly  thin,  and  my  voice  weak.  I 
am  like  a  sparrow  alone  upon  the  house-tops — Courage ! 

Dec.  2nd. — The  admiral's  ship  has  arrived  again  at  Bermuda 
from  Halifax,  accompanied  by  the  Scourge  steamer.  He  will 
spend  the  depth  of  winter  at  the  West  Indies,  come  back  to 


Dromolane  House,   Newry 

The  Mitchel  Family  Residence.     The  larger  upper  window  is  that  of  the  room 

in  which  Mitchel  died 


P[WW^P*<.^»-N!5S.W'^»W.^'"J*'*w-?VP^"Pi»?^w 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


97 


Bermuda  in  spring,  and  then  to  Halifax  for  the  following  summer 

so  that  it  appears  an  admiral  on  the  North  American  station 

can  always  choose  his  cUmate  an5nvhere  within  fifty  degrees  of 
latitude,  and  enjoy  summer  air  £uid  summer-fruits  all  the  year 
round— I  wish  the  fine  old  fellow  his  health. 

I  have  omitted,  of  late,  to  set  down  the  titles  of — for  want  of  a 
better  name  I  must  call  them — 600^,  that  I  have  been  reading 
these  past  months  ;  chiefly  because  they  are  such  utter  offal  that 
there  is  no  use  in  remembering  so  much  as  their  names.  Madame 
Pichler's  Siege  of  Vienna  (Sobieski's  Siege — a  grand  page  of  his- 
tory spun  out  into  many  himdred  pages  of  pitiful  romance,  and 
interwoven  with  a  love-story)  ;  a  Hfe  of  Walter  Scott,  by  one  Allen, 
advocate,  wherein  the  said  advocate  takes  superior  ground,  look- 
ing down,  as  it  were  ex  cathedra,  upon  his  subject,  searching  out 
the  genesis,  and  tracing  the  development  of  this  or  the  other 
power  or  faculty  in  that  popular  writer  ;  sind  thus,  by  philosophic 
histoire  raisonnee,  informing  us  how  it  fell  out,  to  the  best  of  his, 
the  advocate's,  knowledge  that  Walter  Scott  came  to  write  the 
books  he  did,  and  at  the  times  of  his  life,  and  after  the  fashion  he 
iid.^ — Good  Heaven  !  what  a  knowing  age  we  have  the  luck  to  Uve 
n  ! — In  truth,  the  book  is  very  presumptuous  and  very  stupid  ; 
fet  it  is  far  excelled  in  both  these  respects  by  another  I  am  read- 
ng  now,  a  Ufe  of  Cowper,  by  Dr.  Memes  (bookseller's  hack  Uterator 
Df  that  name).  Not  that  the  writer  is  without  genius ;  for  he 
las  succeeded  in  making  a  book  as  repulsive  as  it  is  possible 
br  a  book  giving  anything  like  a  narrative  of  Cowper' s  Ufe 
:o  be. 

And  have  I  read  no  books,  then,  save  bad  ones  ?  That  I  have. 
\mongst  those  sent  to  me  from  home  is  an  old  Dublin  copy  of 
Rabelais,  in  four  volumes,  imprinted  by  Philip  Crampton,  of 
Dame  Street- — and  it  has  kept  me  in  good  wholesome  laughter  for 
I  fortnight — laughter  of  the  sort  that  agitates  the  shoulders,  and 
ihakes  the  diaphragm,  and  makes  the  blood  tingle  ;  than  which 
10  medicine  can  be  more  cordial  to  me — I  have  read  the  cause  of 
lis  effects  in  Galen.  With  Shakespeare  also  I  hold  much  gay  and 
>erious  intercourse  ;  and  I  have  read,  since  coming  here,  three  or 
our  dialogues  of  Plato,  with  the  critical  diUgence  of  a  junior 
>ophister.  The  Politeta,  indeed,  as  a  gentle  exercise  of  my  mind, 
am  writing  out  in  literal  bald  English  ;  which  I  do  chiefly  with 
7 


98  JAIL  JOURNAL 

a  view  to  compel  myself  to  read  the  Greek  accurately,  and  not 
gobble  it,  bones  and  all. 

One  of  the  last  books  I  have  laid  hands  on  is  Lieutenant 
Bumes's  (afterwards  Sir  Alexander  Bumes)  Journey  through 
Bokhara  and  Voyage  up  the  Indus.  And,  not  to  speak  of  the 
intrinsic  merits  of  the  work  as  a  narrative  of  travel,' which  merits 
are  moderate,  it  has  become  remarkable  on  account  of  events 
which  have  befallen  since  its  publication.  This  Bumes  was  sent 
to  those  countries  (in  plain  En^ish)  as  a  spy,  to  make  observations 
and  get  intelligence  which  should  be  available  to  the  Anglo- 
Indian  government,  in  the  project  they  had  of  invading,  civiUsing, 
plimdering,  clothing  in  cotton,  and  finally  subduing  Lahore  and 
Cabool.  That  I  may  not  forget  this  perfoimance,  I  will  take 
here  some  extracts  from  it ;  they  may  be  useful  to  me  if  I  ever 
write — and  hoc  erat  in  votis — an  account  of  the  Carthaginian 
power  in  India. 

Old  Runjeet  Singh,  magnificent  old  Maha  Raja,  was  still  alive  ; 
and  the  pretext  of  Mr.  Bumes's  journey  was  to  convey  to  him  a 
present  of  some  English  cart-horses,  from  Bombay.  The  direct, 
easy,  and  usual  route  to  Lahore  was,  of  course,  by  Loodianha, 
and  across  the  Sutledge  ;  but  one  main  business  of  Burnes  was  to 
explore  the  Lower  Indus,  and  ascertain  whether  it  was  navigable 
for  British  steamers  from  the  sea.  Now  the  Ameers  or  chieftains 
of  Scinde  (the  country  lying  on  the  lower  part  of  the  river's 
course)  were  at  that  time  not  only  free  of  British  protection,  but 
fully  resolved  to  continue  so  ;  and  so  they  jealously  watched,  and 
indeed  were  rather  likely  to  detain  English  travellers  ;  therefore, 
says  Bumes,  "  That  a  better  colour  might  be  given  to  my  deputa- 
tion by  a  route  so  unfrequented,  I  was  made  the  bearer  of  presents 
to  the  Ameers  of  Scinde."  But  the  Ameers  did  not  well  understand ; 
they  were  somehow  suspicious  of  this  Sinon  with  his  cart-horses  ; 
besides,  there  was  a  treaty  under  which  no  English  were  to  attempt 
to  navigate  the  Indus  without  leave  ;  and,  in  short,  Mr.  Bumes 
and  his  party  were  delayed  a  good  while  about  the  river's  mouth, 
while  the  Hyderabad  Ameer  negotiated,  evaded,  and  gained  time. 
Nothing,  in  the  meantime,  could  be  fairer  than  Mr.  Burnes's 
language  ;  he  gave  to  one  Zoolfkar  Shah,  an  agent  of  the  Ameer, 
assurances  which  might  have  satisfied  any  reasonable  barbarian. 
For  "  I  told  him,"  says  the  lieutenant,  "  that  he  had  formed  a 


tflffmm^mrtms^-^n^'rzT^-:'--:- 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


99 


ery  erroneous  opinion  of  the  British  character,  if  he  considered 
lat  I  had  been  sent  here  in  breach  of  a  treaty ;  for  I  had  come 
)  strengthen  the  bonds  of  union  ;  and,  what  was  further,  thai  the 
romise  of  an  officer  was  sacred."  Satisfactory,  surely,  to  hear 
lis  from  the  officer's  own  Ups. 

On  their  passage  up  the  Indus — ^when  at  length  they  were 
[lowed  to  go  up — they  found  (what  the  EngHsh  zilways  find  in 
irery  country  they  have  a  mind  to)  that  the  people  were  cruelly 
eated  by  their  native  government,  and  would  wish  to  receive 
le  British  with  open  arms,  if  the  villainous  Ameers  would  only 
[low  them.  "  We  saw  much  of  the  people,  who  were  disposed 
om  the  first  to  treat  us  more  kindly  than  the  government.  .  .  . 
hey  complained  much  of  their  rulers,  and  of  the  ruinous  and 
ppressive  system  of  taxation,"  etc.,  etc.  Some  of  them,  however, 
ppear  to  have  known  better,  especially  the  priests  and  holy  men. 
t  one  place,  "  A  Syud  stood  at  the  water's  edge  ;  he  turned  to 
is  companion  as  we  passed,  and  in  the  hearing  of  one  of  our 
arty  said,  '  Alas !  Scinde  is  now  gone,  since  the  English  have 
;en  the  river,  which  is  the  road  to  its  conquest.'  If  such  an 
/ent  do  happen,"  continues  Bumes,  "  I  am  certain  that  the 
ody  of  the  people  will  hail  the  happy  day."  In  the  nineteenth 
;ntury,  you  know,  one  would  not  think  of  invading  and  laying 
aste  any  country,  except  for  its  own  good — to  develop  its 
^sources,  as  it  were. 

Well,  we  know  that  happy  day  has  since  dawned  upon  Scinde. 
astead  of  haiUng  it,  to  be  sure,  the  "  body  of  the  people,"  forget- 
ng  their  true  interest,  fought  desperately  at  Meeanee,  to  put  off 
le  day  ;  but  Sir  Charles  Napier  made  them  happy  whether  they 
ould  or  not,  and  out  of  pure  zeal  for  their  amelioration,  cut  a 
reat  many  of  their  throats. 

Bumes  gets  to  Hyderabad,  and  describes  it  professionally,  with 

view  to  the  future  interests  of  civiUsation  :  as  thus — foit,  "  a 
lere  shell ;  ditch,  lo  feet  wide  by  8  deep  ;  walls,  twenty-five  feet 
igh,  but  going  to  decay.  In  short,  he  says,  "  Hyderabad  is  a 
lace  of  no  strength,  and  might  readily  be  captured  by  escalade. 
n  the  centre  of  the  fort  there  is  a  massive  tower,  unconnected  with 
le  works,  which  overlooks  the  surrounding  country.  Here  are 
'posited  a  great  portion  of  the  riches  of  Scinde."  This  tower  and 
s  contents  interest  the  worthy  officer  much.    Again  he  sets  it  in 


J 


100  JAIL  JOURNAL 


his  "  Memoir  of  the  Indus,"  a  kind  of  appendix  to  the  work, 
hke  a  well-trained  setter,  thus  :  "  The  treasure  " — that  is,  the 
pubUc  treasury  of  the  country — "  it  is  said,  amounts  to  about 
twenty  miUions  sterUng,  thirteen  of  which  are  in  money,  and  the 
remainder  in  jewels  :  the  greater  portiofi  of  this  cash  lies  deposited 
in  the  fort  of  Hyderabad  " — which  might  be  so  readily  taken  by 
escalade.  And  sure  enough,  the  British  did,  in  due  course,  take 
Hyderabad  and  rob  the  tower.  The  plunder  of  that  place,  how- 
ever, fell  far  short  of  their  spy's  estimate,  for  it  amoimted  only 
to  one  round  million  of  pounds  sterling :  but  even  this  was  no 
bad  booty  for  one  town. 

Nothing  made  so  deep  an  impression  on  Mr.  Bumes  as  any  dis- 
play of  wealth  on  the  part  of  the  natives.  When  he  arrived  at 
Khyrpore,  higher  up  the  river  than  Hyderabad,  the  Ameer  there 
treated  him  and  his  party  with  lavish  and  costly  hospitality  ;  sent 
to  his  quarters  provisions  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  daily, 
— also,  twice  a  day,  a  meal  of  seventy-two  dishes — and,  says 
Bumes,  "  they  were  served  in  silver."  In  'Khyr^ve,  as  usual,  he 
found  the  people  sorely  dissatisfied  with  their  rulers ;  "  nor  is  the 
feeling,"  says  he,  "  disguised  :  many  a  fervent  hope  did  we  hear 
expressed  in  every  part  of  the  country,  that  we  were  the  fore- 
runners of  conquest,  the  advanced  guard  of  a  conquering  army." 
Mr.  Bumes,  however,  would  by  no  means  admit  such  an  idea ; 
and  showed  much  maidenly  modesty  in  combating  such  seductive 
advances  :  for  example,  the  vizier  of  one  Meer  Roostum  Khan 
came  to  him  to  offer  alliance,  and  began  protesting  that  he  might 
as  well  do  so  in  time — "  for  it  was  foretold  by  astronomers  and 
recorded  in  books,  that  the  English  would  in  time  possess  all 
India."  When  the  British  would  ask  why  the  chief  of  Khyrpore 
had  not  come  forward  with  an  offer  of  allegiance — "  I  tried," 
quoth  Mr.  Burns,  "  to  remove,  but  without  effect,  the  sad 
prognostications  of  the  minister."  As  he  writes  this,  he  winks 
his  eye  to  the  British  reader,  and  the  British  reader  twigs. 

Higher  up  still,  they  came  to  the  country  of  the  Doodapootras ; 
and  there  again  the  Khan  received  them  with  profuse  hospitality. 
"  He  was  attended,"  says  Burnes,  "  by  about  a  thousand  persons, 
Mnd  I  observed  that  he  distributed  money  as  he  passed  along."  To 
Mr.  Burnes  himself  this  Khan  sent  valuable  presents,  and  two 
^ousand  rupees  in  money ;    and  at  partingj  Bumes  told  the 


JAIL  JOURNAL  loi 

honest  Khan  that  he  would  certainly  not  forget  him — "  I  assured 
him,  what  I  felt  most  sincerely,  that  I  should  long  remember  his 
kindness  and  hospitality."  But  it  would  have  been  far  better 
for  the  Khan  if  Burnes  had  forgotten  him. 

At  length  they  approached  Lahore,  and  at  the  frontier  were 
waited  on  by  Sikh  officers  of  Runjeet  Singh,  bringing  welcome  and 
presents.  "  Each  individual  delivered  a  purse  of  money  in  gold  and 
silver,  and  by  his  Highness' s  desire  asked  for  the  health  of  the  King 
of  England,  and  the  period  that  had  elapsed  since  we  left  London  ; 
for  the  Maharaja,  it  seemed,  believed  us  to  have  been  deputed 
from  the  royal  footstool.     I  replied  as  circumstances  required." 

There  was  no  end  to  the  wealth  Mr.  Burnes  saw  in  Lahore — the 
money,  the  silver  chains,  the  gold  bedsteads,  the  jewels,  rich 
hangings,  silken  carpets.  Cashmere  shawls — dazzling  even  to  read 
of.  And  so,  having  solemnly  presented  his  cart-horses,  and  made 
careful  inventory  of  all  the  valuables  he  could  see,  and  the  weak 
points  of  strong  places,  the  prudent  lieutenant  now  returned  to 
Bombay,  across  the  Sutledge,  presented  his  report,  and  got  his 
meed  of  praise  and  his  captain's  commission. 

Soon,  however,  he  was  seized  with  an  intense  desire  to  visit  the 
Punjab  again,  and  to  penetrate  to  Cabool  and  Bokhara.  There 
were  at  that  time  two  ex-kings  of  Cabool,  Shah  Zemaun  and 
Shoojah-ool-Moolk,  hving  in  India,  as  pensioneis  of  the  British  ; 
and  it  was  in  contemplation  to  restore  some  one  of  these  injured 
monarchs  to  their  rights — their  EngUsh  protectors,  indeed,  were 
not  just  sure  which — but  the  state  of  Cabool,  and  the  terms  to 
which  the  exiled  monarchs  would  respectively  submit- — in  short, 
"  circumstances  "  would  determine  that  point.  It  was,  therefore, 
above  all  things,  needful  for  the  Anglo-Indian  government  to  get 
full  information  about  Cabool,  and  the  road  thither,  and  the 
practicable  passes,  and  the  force  and  disposition  of  the  Afghan 
tribes.  Mr.  Burnes,  too,  had  quite  an  amiable  school-boy 
enthusiasm  about  the  "  Conquests  of  Alexander  " — about  "  the 
scene  of  romantic  achievements  which  he  had  read  of  in  early 
youth,"  and  so  forth.  In  one  word,  a  clever  spy  was  wanted, 
and  this  romantic  Heutenant  was  the  very  man. 

Mr.  Burnes,  therefore,  was  again  furnished  with  an  outfit,  and 

passports  as  a  captain  of  the  British  army  returning  to  Europe  "  ; 
not  that  he  had  any  notion  of  really  returning  to  Europe,  but  the 


102  JAIL  JOURNAL 

story  would  serve  well  enough  to  tell  the  barbarians  :  for  what 
could  be  more  natural  than  that  a  British  captain  should  take  the 
overland  route  on  his  return  to  his  native  country  ? 

This  time  Capt.  Bumes  went  straight  across  the  Sutledge  into 
Lahore  ;  and  was  again  received  with  frank  hospitahty  by  brave 
old  Runjeet :  who  made,  however,  inconveniently  minute 
inquiries.  "  Runjeet  made  the  most  particular  inquiries  regard- 
ing our  journey  ;  and  since  it  was  no  pari  of  my  object  to  develop 
the  entire  plans  we  had  in  view,  we  informed  his  Highness  that 
we  were  proceeding  towards  our  native  country."  In  short,  they 
told  him  they  were  going  straight  to  England  ;  for  Burnes 
immediately  adds,  "  He  requested  me  to  take  a  complimentary 
letter  to  the  King  of  England."  The  phrase  "  it  was  no  part  of 
my  object  to  develop,"  etc.,  is  the  gallant  gentleman's  mode  of 
sa5dng,  that  being  a  spy  he  told  such  lies  as  suited  his  purpose. 

After  feasting  his  eyes  again  upon  the  gold  and  jewels  of  Lahore, 
Bumes  proceeds  across  the  Indus  into  Cabool.  The  king.  Dost 
Mohammed,  he  always  takes  care  to  style  in  his  book,  the  "  chief  " 
— remembering  that  the  true  king  was  in  fact  one  of  the  two 
Indian  pensioners,  or  somebody  else,  who  might  suit  the  views 
of  generous  England.  Bumes  was  presented  to  this  "  chief,' ' 
who  asked  much  after  Runjeet  Singh  and  his  power — "  for 
sparing  whose  country,"  says  the  traveller,  "  he  gave  us  no 
credit.  He  wished  to  know  if  we  had  designs  upon  Cabool." 
No  answer  is  recorded  to  this  simple  question  ;  but  we  may  be 
sure  the  answer  was  such  as  circumstances  required. 

One  is  grieved  to  find  that  so  intelligent  a  traveller  found  much 
falsehood,  insincerity,  and  want  of  candour  amongst  the  Asiatics. 
"  With  every  disposition,"  he  says,  "  to  judge  favourably  of 
Asiatics — and  my  opinions  regarding  them  improved  as  I  knew 
them  better — I  have  not  found  them  free  from  falsehood  :  I  fear, 
therefore,  that  many  a  false  oath  is  taken  amongst  them."  What 
a  painful  thought  to  a  European  ! 

I  had  almost  forgotten  the  Koh-i-noor.  It  was  in  the  first 
journey,  when  Mr.  Bumes  was  admitted  to  his  "  audience  of 
leave  "  of  Runjeet  Singh,  he  bethought  himself  that  although  he 
had  seen  gold  and  silver  enough  in  all  conscience  to  justify  British 
"  intervention  "  in  the  affairs  of  the  Pimjab,  he  had  not  yet 
beheld  with  his  own  eyes  that  monstrous  diamond,  in  itself 


JAIL  JOURNAL  ^103 

worth  a  king's  ransom.  Therefore,  "  in  compUance,"  he  says, 
"  with  a  wish  I  expressed,  he  produced  the  Koh-i-noor,  or 
Mountain  of  Light,  one  of  the  largest  diamonds  in  the  world, 
which  he  had  extorted  from  Shah  Shoo j ah,  the  ex-king  of  Cabool." — 
the  very  man  we  are  supporting  by  a  pension — so  that  the  diamond 
as  good  as  belongs  to  us.  "  Nothing,"  exclaims  Mr.  Bumes,  "  can 
be  imagined  more  superb  than  this  stone  :  it  is  of  the  finest 
water,  and  is  about  half  the  size  of  an  egg.  Its  weight  amounts 
to  3  J  rupees ;  and  if  such  a  jewel  is  to  be  valued,  I  am  informed 
it  is  worth  3^  millions  of  money  :  but  this  is  a  gross  exaggeration." 
Certainly,  it  wa^  important  to  have  all  the  particulars  in  the 
matter  of  such  a  diamond  as  this — a  main  part  of  the  resources 
of  Lahore,  afterwards  to  be  developed  by  British  energy.  It  was 
the  size  of  half  an  egg  :  its  weight  was  accurately  ascertained  by 
the  commonest  silver  coin — but  lest  there  should  be  any  mistake, 
he  adds,  "  The  Koh-i-noor  is  set  as  an  armlet,  with  a  diamond  on 
each  side  about  the  size  of  a  sparrow's  egg."  Thus  it  was  made 
pretty  certain  that  in  any  future  sack  or  plunder  of  Lahore,  the 
rudest  soldier  going  in  there,  to  see  what  he  could  develop,  should 
not  fail  to  identify  the  Mountain  of  Light.  The  Maharaja  also 
showed  him  a  large  ruby  weighing  fourteen  rupees,  a  topaz  as 
large  as  half  a  bilUard-ball — showed  him  enough,  in  short,  to 
awaken  the  sympathies  of  the  British  pubUc  in  favour  of 
Lahore. 

r  The  last  thing  I  heard  of  the  Mountain  of  Light  was,  that  it 
was  safe  "  under  the  protection  of  British  bayonets."* 

There  is  no  need  to  follow  Captain  Bumes  through  Cabool  and 
Bokhara,  or  to  copy  the  prudent  remarks  he  everywhere  makes 
upon  the  strength  of  defences,  and  the  booty  to  be  expected  in 
cities.  He  acquitted  himself  hke  a  cunning  serviceable  spy,  gave 
satisfaction  to  the  gang  of  robbers  he  belonged  to ;  and,  as  all  the 
world  knows,  was  at  last  put  to  death  by  Akbar  Khan's  people 
during  the  first  British  invasion  of  Cabool ;  justly  put  to  death  by 
the  indignant  people  as  a  detected  spy  and  ungrateful  traitor, 
which  he  was.  The  British,  as  usual,  called  the  transaction 
"  insurrection  "  and  "  murder." 

*  But  the  very  last  is  that  the  Mountain  of  Light  was  exhibited  in  the 
London  Crystal  Palace,  as  a  jewel  of  Queen  Victoria's.  So  that  poor 
Shah  Shoojah  has  got  neither  kingdom  nor  diamond. 


104  /^^^  JOURNAL 

But  the  most  amusing  portion  of  this  whole  book,  is  that  which 
•  sets  forth  the  gallant  officer's  views  about  pushing  a  sale  of  British 
soft  goods  in  Asia.  For  a  thorough-bred  British  spy  must  be  also 
a  kind  of  "  commercial  traveller  "  ;  and  besides  his  reconnais- 
sances, taken  for  the  purposes  of  pure  brigandage,  he  must  be 
cunning  in  cotton  patterns,  wise  in  the  statistics  of  turban-cloth 
and  shawls,  and  must  ascertain  where  consignments  of  divers 
sorts  of  fabrics  may  be  successfully  poured  in.  Having  maturely 
studied  this  subject,  Bumes  recommends  that  the  fabrics  of  Tata, 
Mooltan,  etc.,  be  copied  in  England — "  as  we  did,"  says  he,  "  the 
chintzes  of  India." — "  We  may  then,"  he  says,  "  supersede  the 
lingering  remnants  of  trade  in  those  cities."  The  poUcy  of 
British  traffic  in  the  East  has  always  been  to  make  low-priced 
counterfeits  of  all  native  manufactures — at  first,  of  good  service- 
able quality,  until  the  genuine  maker  was  thrust  out  of  the 
market,  then  gradually  "  pouring  in  "  worse  and  worse  Man- 
chester rubbish,  so  as  to  effectually  cheat  the  consumer,  starve 
the  artisan,  and  ruin  the  employers.  It  is  needful  to  keep  in 
mind  the  shabby  history  of  this  business,  in  order  to  imderstand 
some  of  the  gallant  commercial  gent.'s  speculations ;  and  I  re- 
member that  the  most  striking  picture  of  the  dismal  effects  pro- 
duced by  that  roguish  policy  in  India  is  to  be  found  in  Bishop 
Heber's  Narrative.  Dacca  and  other  places  in  Bengal,  once  vast 
and  flourishing  manufacturing  cities,  employing  many  tens  of 
thousands  of  Hindoo  artisans,  and  working  up  the  Indian  cotton 
into  those  fine  textures  with  which  they  supplied  Europe  and  Asia 
sixty  years  ago,  are  now,  for  the  greater  part,  only  jungle- 
matted  ruins,  where  wild  beasts  of  the  desert  dwell,  and  jackals 
make  night  hideous — worse,  if  possible,  than  the  Liberty  of 
Dublin  :  the  miserable  natives  perish  of  famine  by  thousands 
every  year  ;  the  cotton  is  exported  10,000  miles  to  be  woven  in 
Manchester  and  re-imported  in  the  shape  of  such  indecent 
printed  rags  as  the  poor  devils  are  now  able  to  buy  insomuch 
that  cunning  British  commerce  is  beginning  to  find  it  has  by  its 
very  greediness  overdone  the  system.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Burnes, 
while  he  shows  how  to  cut  out  the  manufacturers  of  Lahore, 
takes  care  to  say  "  I  do  not  touch  upon  the  policy  of  supplanting 
still  further  the  trade  of  India."  Because  the  people  there  are 
already  brought  to  the  starvation  point  and  below  the  clothes- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  105 

wearing  condition,  where  one's  customers  cease  to  be  profitable, 
even  for  one's  very  vilest  "  fabrics." 

This  epauletted  bagman  has  given,  plainly  enough,  the  history 
of  the  usual  British  procedure  in  one  case.  "  The  chintz  of 
Moultan,"  he  says,  "  was  formerly  exported  to  Persia  ;  but  in  its 
competition  with  the  British  article  the  manufacture  has  almost 
ceased.  The  European  article,  when  first  introduced,  about  twelve 
years  ago,  was  sold  for  twelve  rupees  per  yard,  and  may  now  be 
had  for  as  many  annas,  or  one-sixteenth  of  its  original  value.  The 
Moultan  manufacturers,  being  unable  to  reduce  their  prices  to  so 
low  a  standard,  find  little  sale  for  the  goods."  And  how  comes  it 
one  may  ask,  that  the  British  manufacturer  can  reduce  his  prices 
to  so  low  a  standeird,  producing  his  goods,  as  he  does,  in  a  very 
highly-taxed  country,  and  charged,  as  he  is,  with  freight  half 
round  the  globe  and  back  again  ?  How  ?  Why,  first,  by  starving 
the  artisans  of  the  West,  and  then  by  cheating  the  people  of  the 
East.  He  can  keep  down  his  prices  in  no  other  way  than  by 
making  bad  articles,  and  cutting  down  wages,  so  that  the  exten- 
sion of  this  traffic  is  no  gain,  but  loss,  to  British  artisans,  who  have 
the  honour,  indeed,  to  "  clothe  the  world,"  but  go  without 
whole  shirts  themselves.  The  beneficent  spirit  (you  know)  of 
peaceful  commerce,  which  binds  in  a  golden  chain  (so  the  phrase 
runs)  most  distant  regions,  etc. 

On  the  whole,  the  gzdlant  gent,  recommends  the  pouring  in  of 
"  woollens  "  to  Lahore  and  Afghanistan.  About  silks  he  hesitates, 
fearing  they  might  not  answer  yet ;  but  adds,  "  I  do  not  of  course 
include  brocade,  which  is  at  present  imported.' '  Watches,  cutlery, 
jewellery,  or  glass  he  hardly  recommends  for  the  present ;  but 
"  ardent  spirits  "  would  be  brought  to  a  better  market.  "  It  is 
true,"  he  tells  us,  "  the  Punjabees  still  prefer  the  fiery  drink  of 
their  own  soil."  This  is  sad  ;  but  if  some  good  cheap  British 
gin,  with  plenty  of  aqua  fortis  in  it,  were  poured  in,  who  knows 
but  we  might  supersede  their  fiery  drink  ? 

So  did  Captain  Bumes  approve  himself  a  prudent  and  service- 
able spy,  and  that  in  respect  of  all  the  several  matters  cognisable 
by  a  true  British  spy.  In  his  capacity  of  geographical  traveller, 
under  pretexts  of  carr5dng  presents,  he  took  soundings  of  the  Indus 
for  British  steamers.  As  a  commercial  traveller  he  explored  new 
markets,  and  made  himself  learned  in  patterns  and  textures,  to  be 


io6  JAIL  JOURNAL 

counterfeited  by  the  British  weaver  ;  and,  as  a  mere  brigand  scout, 
he  took  notes  of  the  amount  of  plunder  to  be  got,  marked  the 
exact  spots  where  every  good  booty  was  to  be  found,  and  esti- 
mated the  strength  of  the  walls,  bolts,  and  bars,  with  a  view  to 
future  British  burglarious  operations. 

The  troops  are  forming  on  the  parade  ground,  and  I  must  quit 
Captain  Bumes,  to  listen  to  the  music.  Ireland  Island,  instead 
of  St.  George's,  was  some  time  since  made  the  headquarters  of  the 
42nd  for  my  sole  sake,  and  therefore  their  splendid  band  plays 
here  for  my  peculiar  solacement.  There  are  two  fine  bands  now  at 
the  dockyard,  one  of  them  belonging  to  the  Wellesley  flagship;  and 
the  land  and  the  waters  utter  delicious  strains,  sole  or  responsive. 

So  much  for  the  waltz  music  of  the  42nd.  And  by  an  odd  chance 
the  very  next  book  I  took  up,  after  "  Bumes' s  Travels,"  was 
''  Sketches  in  Portugal  during  the  Civil  War  of  1834,"  by  Capt. 
Alexander,  of  the  same  42nd,  another  mihtary  commercial 
traveller,  though  far  less  dexterous  and  intelligent  than  Bumes. 
He  had  been  engaged  by  the  Royal  Geographical  Society' to  go 
to  South-Eastem  Africa  and  make  "  researches  "  there  ;  and,  in 
the  first  place,  proceeded  to  Portugal  to  get  papers,  maps,  pass- 
ports, and  other  furtherances,  to  enable  him  to  traverse  the 
Portuguese  possessions  with  advantage.  This  captain's  book,  as 
a  book,  is  worth  simply  nothing  ;  and  I  should  never  have  written 
down  the  title  of  it  but  for  the  sake  of  two  sentences,  at  which  I 
have  laughed.  I  will  extract  them  for  the  sake  of  another  laugh 
some  future  day.  The  gallant  officer  is  much  cheered  by  the 
thought  of  all  the  good  that  his  mission  will  do  the  poor  Africans, 
especially  in  a  moral  point  of  view.  He  says  :  "  For  the  philan- 
thropic and  patriotic  mind  no  prospect  can  be  more  agreeable 
than  that  of  seeing  the  interest  of  the  African  tribes  attended  to, 
the  arts  of  civilised  life  introduced  amongst  them — then  the 
mild  spirit  of  Christianity,  from  all  which  will  most  assuredly 
flow  wealth  and  prosperity  to  our  own  native  land."  And  this  is 
only  reasonable.  One  would  not  surely  give  one's  Christianity 
to  the  savages  for  nothing. 

The  other  sentence  I  take  from  the  Christian  missionary's 
speculations  on  soft  goods — "  Show  a  Turk  a  fast-coloured  silk  for 
twelve  piastres,  and  show  him  another  not  with  fcist  colours  (and 
brighter  because  it  is  not  so  fast)  ;  explain  to  him  the  difference 


JAIL  JOURNAL  107 

between  them,  and  tell  him  he  may  have  the  last  piece  for  six 
piastres,  which  will  he  take  ?  Undoubtedly  not  the  twelve 
piastre  piece."  It  is  not  very  clear  to  me  that  if  this  missionary 
commercial  captain  and  man-milliner  were  actually  chaffering 
with  the  Turk  in  the  case  supposed,  he  would  feel  quite  bound 
to  explain  to  his  customer  the  whole  of  the  difference  between 
the  pieces — that  is  if  the  cheap  and  bad  piece  were  the  more 
profitable  to  sell,  which  is  usually  the  case  with  British  goods. 

How  this  pettifogging,  huckstering  nation  degrades  the  pro- 
fession of  arms,  making  its  officers  common  riders  for  Lancashire 
weavers  !  Why  not  let  mill-owners  employ  their  own  bagmen — 
as  they  did  Mr.  Lander,  who  was  commissioned  to  explore 
Central  Africa  for  customers  by  one  or  two  private  merchants. 
This  would  keep  military  officers  minding  their  own  business, 
and  a  huge  amount  of  dreary  letterpress  would  be  spared  the 
human  race. 

Surely,  amongst  other  great  benefits  which  the  next  European 
war  will  confer  on  the  family  of  mankind,  not  the  least  will  be  the 
suspension  of  military  and  naval  authorship  for  a  time — and  per- 
haps the  changing  of  those  gentlemen's  tone  and  tune  for  all 
time. 

I  have  read  no  Greek  for  six  days  ;  and  begin  to  fear  that  in 
pretending  to  myself  I  loved  Plato  and  ^Eschylus  I  was  no  better 
than  an  impostor.  Enough  of  books — I  would  give  all  the  books 
I  ever  read  for  a  pair  of  lungs  that  would  work. 

Dec.  "^rd. — Another  red  morning  has  dawned,  and  finds  me 
sitting,  bent  down  on  my  chair,  with  weary  limbs  and  dizzy  brain, 
worn  out  with  another  night's  long  agony.  It  is  the  twelfth  night 
since  my  head  has  pressed  my  pillow — ^Almighty  God  ! — is  the 
angel  Sleep  to  visit  me  never  more  ?  All  night,  in  darkness,  I  have 
wrestled  with  a  strong  fiend  in  this  cell — other  wrestUng  than 
Jacob's  at  Penuel — and  now,  at  sunrise,  when  I  can  breathe  some- 
what more  freely,  the  sense  of  deadly  weariness  comes  upon 
me  heavily.  My  feet  are  cold  as  marble  :  my  body  and  head 
bathed  in  sweat.  I  look  at  my  image  in  the  glass,  and  verily  be- 
lieve my  mother  would  hardly  know  me  :  my  eyes  have  the  wild 
fearful  stare  that  one  may  imagine  in  the  eyes  of  a  hard-hunted 
hare,  couched  and  gasping  in  her  form  ;  a  cold  dew  stands  in  beads 
upon  my  forehead  ;  my  cheeks  are  shrunk  and  Uvid  ;  my  fingers 


io8 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


have  become  like  bird's  claws  ;  "  and  on  mine  eyelids  is  the 
shadow  of  death."  The  Asthma  demon  has  fled  westward,  keep- 
ing within  the  great  shadow  of  the  world — riding  in  darkness  hke 
Satan.  Ah  !  he  will  put  a  girdle  round  the  earth,  and  be  with  me 
again  at  set  of  sun.  All  tortured  and  weary  wretches,  all  exiles, 
and  captives,  long  for  the  night :  and  the  ambrosial  night  brings 
them  Lethean  balm,  and  Uberty,  and  home — for  those  few 
blessed  hours  they  may  have  back  their  youth,  and  tread  their 

native  land,  and  see  the  sweet  eyes  of  those  who  love  them 

And  to  me 

But  this,  after  all,  is  an  unprofitable  line  of  observation.  If  I 
once  begin  to  write  down  my  "  grievances,"  I  will  but  think  the 
more  of  them.  And  I  am  resolved  not  to  listen  to  myself  on  that 
topic.  Moreover,  if  the  night  was  bad  the  morning  is  glorious,  and 
is  flooding  the  earth  with  heavenly  splendour  :  the  heavy  sighing 
of  the  wet  sea- wind  had  sunk,  and  the  waves  that  dismally  tumbled 
and  plashed  all  night  against  the  ship's  side  are  now  but  a  gentle 
ripple,  trembUng  in  the  warm  sunshine.     It  is  a  deep  calm. 

Slowly  and  painfully  I  prepared  myself  to  go  out ;  and  have 
now  basked  in  the  sun  for  an  hour  on  the  pier.  These  December 
days  (though  the  nights  be  cold)  are  as  bright  and  warm  as  July 
days  in  Ireland.  No  wretchedness,  on  this  side  despair,  could 
resist  the  soothing  power  of  such  a  sky  and  scene,  such  Favonian 
airs  and  blue  gentle  seas.  Strains  of  soft  music  from  the  band 
of  the  flagship  in  the  bay  come  floating  on  the  still  air  ;  and  the 
cedar-tufted  Bermoothes,  with  their  white  cottages  and  dark 
groves,  are  like  a  dream  of  Elysian  tropic  islands  where  the 
Hesperian  golden  fruitage  grows.  Surely  there  is  mercy  in  the 
heavens  :'  there  is  hope  for  mortal  men.  I  am  strong  ;  I  am  well. 
Soul  and  body  are  refreshed  ;  and  I  can  meet  again,  and  conquer 
again,  the  demon  that  walketh  in  darkness. 

Dr.  Hall,  the  medical  superintendent,  came  to  see  me  to-day  in 
consequence  of  the  continued  reports  made  by  the  surgeon  of  this 
ship  of  my  continued  illness.  In  truth,  for  more  than  two  months 
I  have  been  almost  constantly  ill,  and  that  to  a  degree  which  I 
had  no  idea  of  in  all  my  life  before,  though  an  asthmatic  patient 
of  ten  years'  standing.  Dr.  Hall  told  me  plainly  I  could  not  ex- 
pect to  improve  in  health  at  all  in  this  chmate,  especially  in  con- 
finement— that   Bermuda   is   notoriously   and   excessively   un- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  109 

friendly  to  asthmatic  persons ;  and  that  I  must  grow  worse 
until  my  frame  breaks  down  altogether :  in  short,  that  if  I  be 
kept  here  much  longer  I  must  die. 

"  And  is  it,"  I  asked,  "  a  settled  part  of  the  transportation 
system  that  an  invalid  is  to  be  confined  to  that  penal  colony,  of 
all  others,  which  is  most  hkely  to  kill  him — I  am  sure  the  English 
have  convict  estabUshments  in  many  other  countries  ?  " 

"  The  Government,"  said  he,  "  never  makes  any  distinction  of 
that  kind — I  assure  you  many  hundreds  of  men  have  died  here, 
who  need  not  have  died  if  I  could  have  had  them  removed  to  a 
more  healthy  climate." 

"  Is  there  no  escape  for  me,  then  ?  " 

"  Why,  with  respect  to  you,  I  do  think  something  may  be  done. 
And  in  fact  I  have  come  to  you  to-day  to  urge  it  upon  you  to 
make  the  necessary  exertion  for  this  purpose  You  must  ab- 
solutely apply  for  your  removal,  or  at  least  be  taken  out  of  this 
strict  and  solitary  confinement." 

"  But  I  have  never,"  I  answered,  "  since  they  made  a  felon  of 
me,  asked  for  any  kind  of  indulgence  or  mitigation.  I  was 
prepared  for  the  worst  the  Government  could  do  to  me  :  and, 
live  or  die,  I  cannot  make  any  appeal  ad  misericordiam." 

"  No,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  but  write  to  the  governor  informing 
him  of  your  state  of  health  ;  tell  him  I  have  announced  to  you 
that  you  cannot  live  under  your  present  circumstances  and  refer 
to  me  for  my  report."  ' 

"  And  why  not  tell  him  all  this  yourself  ?     You  know  it." 

"  I  cannot.  I  cannot.  The  form  must  be  compUed  with.  I 
must  not  interfere  officially,  unless  upon  reference  regularly  made 
to  me — and  that  can  only  be  done  when  you  bring  the  thing 
under  the  notice  of  the  governor  formally." 

"  By  my  own  autograph  ? — a  petition,  in  short.  Well,  then. 
Dr.  Hall,  to  you  personally  I  am  of  course  grateful  for  the  kind 
feeling  that  makes  you  urge  this  point  as  you  do.  But  I  will  never, 
by  throwing  myself  on  the  mercy  of  the  EngUsh  Government, 
confess  myself  to  be  a  felon.  I  will  not  beUe  my  whole  past  Ufe 
and  present  feeUngs.     I  will  not  eat  dirt." 

The  Doctor  was  now  going  to  leave  me,  but  came  back  from 
the  door,  up  to  where  I  sat,  and  laid  his  hand  upon  my  shoulder. 
I  saw  that  tears  stood  in  the  good  old  man's  eyes.    "  And  are  you 


no  JAIL  JOURNAL 

going."  he  said,  "  to  let  yourself  be  closed  up  here  till  you  perish 
a  convict,  when  by  so  slight  an  effort  you  could — as  I  am  sure  you 
could — procure  not  only  your  removal  but  probably  your  release  ? 
You  are  still  young  :  you  have  a  right  to  look  forward  to  a  long 
life  yet  with  your  family  in  freedom  and  honour.  Write  to  the 
governor  in  some  form — a  simple  letter  will  do  ;  and  I  know  he 
wishes  to  exert  himself  in  this  matter  if  it  be  brought  before  him 
so  as  to  justify  his  interference.    Take  your  pen  now  and  write." 

"  I  will  write  something,"  I  said,  "  but  not  now.  I  will  think 
of  it,  and  try  to  make  it  possible  for  the  governor  and  you  to 
procure  my  removal,  seeing  my  actual  MS.  is  essential  to  that 
end. 

After  leaving  the  cell  he  returned  to  say  I  should  be  sure  to 
give  Captain  Elliott  his  proper  title  as  governor.  I  answered 
that  I  believed  the  gentleman  was,  out  of  all  doubt,  governor  of 
Bermuda,  and  that  of  course  I  would  address  him  properly.  So 
the  Doctor  left  me. 

If  a  man  were  in  the  hands  of  a  gang  of  robbers — I  mean  mere 
ordinary  unconstitutional  highwaymen — and  if  he  were  cooped  up 
in  a  close  pestilentia-1  crib,  the  oubliette  of  their  cavern,  would  he 
not  call  out  for  more  air  ? — and  would  his  so  calling  out  amount 
to  an  admission  that  when  they  waylaid  and  robbed  him  they 
served  him  right — or  an  acknowledgment  of  their  title  to  rob  on 
that  road  ? — I  trow  not. 

I  am  not  sentenced  to  death.  If  the  pirates  put  me  to  death  by 
this  ingenious  method,  it  would  be  well  at  least  to  let  the  proceed- 
ing be  known  abroad.  Not  that  I  think  they  really  want  to  kill 
me  ;*  and  possibly  they  would  even  be  glad  of  some  excuse  to 
extend  "  mercy  "  to  me — the  rascals  !  At  all  events  I  will  take 
care  to  ask  for  no  mitigation  of  my  sentence,  still  less  "  pardon  "  ; 
but  demand  only  that  I  shall  not  be  murdered  by  a  slow  process 
of  torture.  To-morrow  I  will  do  somewhat.  Ah  !  if  the  life  or 
death  of  this  poor  carcase  only  were  at  stake 

Dec.  4th. — Several  newspapers  have  come  to  hand ;  also,  Black- 
wood's Maga<.ine  for  October.  Blackwood  has  a  long  article  on 
Irish  affairs,  which  pleases  me  much  ;  for  they  say  it  is  now  clear 
the  British  Constitution,  with  its  trial-by-jury  and  other  respect- 
able institutions,  is  no  way  suited  to  Ireland  ;  that  even  the 
•  I  now  think  differently ;  the  reason  will  appear  in  the  sequel. — JM. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  m 

Whigs  have  found  out  this  truth  at  last ;  that  they,  the  Black- 
wood's men,  always  said  so  ;  and  who  will  contradict  them  now  ? 
— that  Ireland  is  to  be  kept  in  order  simply  by  bayonets  ;  and 
when  the  vile  Celts  are  sufficiently  educated  and  improved,  they 
may  then  perhaps  aspire  to  be  admitted  to  the  pure  blessings 
of,  etc.,  etc. 

This  is  quite  right,  friend  Christopher ;  we  ought  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  your  Constitution,  as  you  call  it,  until,  as 
you  say,  we  know  how  to  use  it ;  which,  imder  bayonet  tuition, 
is  a  secret  we  cannot  but  learn,  I  trust,  at  last ;  and  then  we  will 
certainly  use  it  after  its  deserts. 

So  I  am  to  write  to-day  to  this  British  governor  of  Bermuda, 
and  respectfully,  too.  Indeed,  if  I  write  to  Captain  Elliott  at  all, 
I  am  no  way  entitled  to  address  him  otherwise  than  respectfully. 
On  my  arrival  here,  when  he  despatched  my  first  letter  to  my 
wife,  he  had  the  courtesy  to  write  to  her  himself,  to  set  her 
mind  at  ease  as  much  as  he  could. 

I  have  written.  The  letter  is  superscribed,  "  To  his  Excellency 
the  Governor  of  Bermuda."  It  merely  contains  a  statement  about 
my  health,  with  reference  to  the  medical  superintendent,  and 
suggests  that  "  as  I  am  not  sentenced  to  death,"  it  might  be 
well  to  get  some  change  made  in  my  position,  either  by  removal 
to  a  more  healthy  climate,  or  otherwise,  "  so  that  I  may  be 
enabled,  physically,  to  endure  the  term  of  transportation  to 
which  I  am  sentenced." 

As  this  document  does  not  call  itself  a  petition  or  memorial, 
and  does  not  end  with  a  promise  to  pray,  possibly  the  governor 
may  decline  to  notice  it,  yet  I  think  he  will  use  his  influence  to 
have  me  removed  ;  and  if  he  suggests  this  to  the  London  Govern- 
ment, policy  will  probably  inchne  them  to  mitigate  the  atrocity 
of  their  outrage.  Let  me  but  escape  out  of  their  clutches  with  my 
life,  an(i  I  will  let  them  hear  of  my  gratitude  for  all  their  poliey 
to  me. 

At  anyrate  the  letter  has  been  despatched  to  Government 
House,  and  in  a  great  hurry,  lest  I  should  rue,  and  not  send  it  at 
ay.  There  is  sore  humiliation  in  stooping  to  ask  anything  of 
these  pirates — even  air  that  I  can  breathe. 

True,  a  man  captured  by  Malays  or  Greeks,  or  other  buccaneer- 
ing rovers,  would  think  it  no  shame  to  do  thus  much  or  more,  for 


112  JAIL  JOURNAL 

life  or  liberty  ;  and  this  simple  note  may  save  my  life  or  gain  my 
liberty.  Yet  it  has  cost  me  a  grievous  effort.  I  feel  the  wrong 
done  to  me  tripled  since  enforcing  myself  to  condescend  so  far  ; 
and  if  it  pleases  God,  to  Whom  vengeance  belongeth,  to  award 
to  me  my  share,  then,  by  God's  help,  I  will  have  additional 
revenge  for  this. 

Two  months  will  bring  me  the  result.     Till  then  I  must  keep 
aching  body  and  panting  soul  together,  as  best  I  may. 


00 
00 


V 


bo 

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bo 
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O 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  "  first  mate  "  has  been  with  me  inquiring  after  my  health. 
He  rather  suspects  me,  I  beheve,  of  mahngering.  This  old  fellow 
is  very  voluble  in  his  talk,  believes  himself  to  possess  great  con^ 
versational  power,  and  is  ready  to  give  his  opinion  (being  a 
Londoner)  upon  every  subject.  Gives  it  as  his  decided  opinion 
that  the  thing  which  ails  me  must  be  "  something  internal." 
Asked  me  earnestly  how  I  thought  I  had  contracted  this  illness, 
I  told  him  if  it  was  not  by  skating  against  the  wind  in  Flanders,  I 
could  not  think  what  else  it  wasn't.  "  And  a  very  likely  way 
too,"  said  the  first  mate. 

Dec.  8th. — I  have  been  wasting  my  time  sadly  for  three  months 
— doing,  learning,  thinking,  stark  nothing.  There  is  surely  no 
necessity  on  me  to  live  this  worthless  life,  even  in  a  hulk.  By 
idleness  I  am  helping  the  sickness  that  saps  my  strength.  The 
chafing  spirit  devours  the  flesh  ;  the  blade  rusts,  and  consumes 
its  scabbard.  This  very  possibility  of  getting  shortly  removed 
hence  has  restrained  me  from  writing  to  Ireland  for  the  books  I 
want ;  and  books  and  writing  are  the  only  occupation  I  can  think 
of  in  my  solitude.  In  truth,  I  did  deem  myself  stronger  than  I 
find  myself  to  be — stronger  in  body  and  mind  ;  thought  I  could 
live  wisely,  calmly,  and  be  sufficient  imto  myself  in  my  own 
strength  of  quiet  endurance,  into  whatsoever  profoundest  depths 
of  penal  horror  the  enemy  might  plunge  me.  To  do  and  to  be  all 
this,  I  apprehend,  needs  more  training  than  I  have  yet  undergone. 
To  attain  the  maximum  strength,  whether  of  mind  or  body,  you 
require  exercise,  aoK^To-ts,  education  of  every  muscle  and  limb,  of 
every  faculty  and  sense.  Sometimes  I  strive  to  guess  what  Goethe 
that  great  artist  in  hving  well,  would  recommend,  by  way  of 
institutio  vitce  to  a  man  in  a  hulk,  ridden  by  the  asthma  fiend  ;  but 
that  sage  relied  too  much,  perhaps,  on  physical  agencies,  and  the 
ennobling  influences  that  come  to  us  from  objects  of  sense  and 
taste,  and  the  creations  of  highest  art — to  be  of  much  use  in  cases 
hke  these.    The  pleasant  country  set  apart  for  learning  how  to  live 

S  113 


114 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


in  Wilhelm  Meister's  Wanderjahr,  with  its  stately  repose  and  its 
elegant  instrumentalities,  material  and  spiritual,  for  making 
human  life  godhke,  is  as  far  out  of  my  reach  here  as  Utopia. 
Goethe,  I  think,  never  tried  the  galleys.  One  could  wish  he  had — 
that  so  hulked  men  might  have  the  spiritual  use  and  meaning  of 
the  hulking  world  developed  in  transcendental  wise,  to  help  their 
Bohtary  researches  in  all  their  convict  generations.  But,  indeed, 
he  made  it  one  of  the  rules  of  his  own  life  to  shun  all  violent 
shocks,  rude  impressions,  harsh  noises,  and  the  like  ;  a  temper 
that  his  nervous  mother  gave  him,  they  say :  at  any  rate,  he 
nursed  and  petted  himself  in  that  refined  sensitiveness  ;  and 
thereby  surely  excluded  himself  from  at  least  one-half  the  ex- 
periences of  this  world,  so  harsh  and  rude.  If  he  had  been 
bolted  in  fetters  of  iron,  and  whirled  away  to  the  galleys  with  a 
loaded  pistol  at  his  ear,  he  might  have  found  the  impression 
rather  strong  :  but  who  can  tell  what  he  might  have  learned,  to 
teach  other  men  ?     Who  can  measure  our  loss  herein  ? 

I  venture  to  dogmatise  further — that  by  reason  >of  this  very 
system  of  his,  living  the  easy  half  only  of  life,  this  Goethe  fails 
of  being  the  prophet,  preacher,  and  priest,  that  a  certain  apostle 
of  his  in  these  days  affirms  he  is. 

That  other  Prophet,  who  preceded  both  Goethe  and  Moham- 
med, did  not  shun  disagreeable  impressions  :  He  fasted  forty 
days,  and  then  fought  and  vanquished  the  devil  and  his  angels — • 
the  sweat  of  His  passion  was  as  drops  of  blood — He  was  spitefully 
entreated — struck  with  the  palms  of  ruffian  hands — scourged  Uke 
a  convict  as  He  was.  He  sounded  the  bass  string  of  human  misery 
and  shame — insomuch  that  it  is  possible — I  do  not  peremptorily 
dogmatise  here — it  is  possible,  that  by  intense  contemplation  of 
the  character,  passion,  and  death  of  that  Prophet,  more  perfectly 
fthan  by  any  other  spiritual  training,  man  may  serenely  conquer 
the  flesh  and  the  sense,  defy  the  devil,  and  triumph  gloriously 
<over  pain  and  death. 

Dec.  i8th. — I  learn  that  a  ship  is  to  arrive  at  Bermuda  early 
next  year,  carrying  a  cargo  of  convicts  from  London,  with  orders 
to  deposit  them  here,  and  then  proceed  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
with  another  similar  cargo,  made  up  of  "  recommended  "  prisoners 
from  Bermuda,  to  be  selected  from  amongst  those  who  have  gone 
through  most  of  their  terms  of  sentence.    When  these  %rj;ivVe  ^ 


JAIL  JOURNAL  115 

the  Cape  they  are  to  be  set  at  liberty  by  what  is  termed  "  ticket- 
of-leave."  How  will  the  Cape  colony  relish  this  consignment  of 
miscreants — to  be  let  loose  in  their  fine  country  ?  I  suppose  they 
have  no  voice  in  the  matter.  The  man  in  Downing  Street  is 
their  divine  Providence  ;  and  they  must  submit  to  the  inscrutable 
dispensations  of  the  clerks  in  that  office. 

Seeing  this  shipload  is  actually  to  be  sent,  however,  it  may 
possibly  occur  to  my  keepers  in  England,  that  as  I  am  not  Ukely 
to  die  here  without  remark,  they  had  better  send  me  to  the  Cape. 
I  should  like  it  well :  that  colony  has  a  noble  chmate  :  I  should  be 
in  some  sort  of  Uberty  ;  and  if  Hkely  to  be  kept  there  many  years, 
I  could  bring  out  all  my  household  ;  and  actually  live  through  my 
captivity  instead  of  suffering  a  daily  and  nightly  death-in-Ufe,  as 
I  do  here. 

Scarce  half  I  seem  to  live — dead  more  than  half 

And  buried — 

Myself  my  sepulchre — a  moving  grave. 

Fresh  air,  free  motion,  books,  solitude  without  bars  and  gratings 
employment  on  my  own  ground,  as  a  vine-dresser  and  a  husband- 
man, and  in  teaching  my  boys — and  the  sweet  society  of  all  that 
are  dearest  to  me.  I  will  speak  to  Dr.  Hall  about  it :  he  may 
suggest  the  thing  to  the  governor,  who  may  suggest  it  to  the 
Colonial  Secretary.  If  I  must  be  a  prisoner — or  while  I  must — 
there  could  be  no  more  tolerable  imprisonment  than  this. 

O'Doherty  of  the  Irish  Tribune,  I  see,  has  also  been  sentenced 
to  ten  years'  transportation — and  what  then  can  have  become  of 
his  colleague,  Williams  ?  There  is  not  one  word  about  him  in 
the  paper,  I  have  seen.  Perhaps  he  has  died  in  the  prison.  The 
jury  in  O'Doherty's  case  was  also  closely  packed. 

Some  Catholic  clergymen  have  drawn  up  and  presented  to  Lord 
Clarendon  a  respectful  address,  humbly  deprecating  the  packing 
of  juries  in  all  these  cases,  and  suggesting  that  Catholic  house- 
holders should  be  allowed  to  stand  for  "  good  and  lawful  men." 
Lord  Clarendon  repUes  boldly  that  he  did  pack  the  juries  ;  and 
that  under  the  circumstances  he  did  right  to  pack  them.  Here  is 
an  honest  ruffian  ! 

About  the  time  of  my  trial  I  remember  some  newspapers  (and 
even  Mr.  Henn  in  his  speech)  said  I  had  no  right  to  complain  of 
the  exclusion  of  Catholic  jurors — not  being  a  Catholic  myself — 


ii6 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


and  now  as  O'Doherty  is  a  Catholic  himself,  they  say  he  cannot 
surely  expect  to  be  tried  by  his  co-religionists ;  they  would  be 
partial  to  him.'  So  in  all  cases  good  true-blue  Protestants  must 
do  the  Queen's  business.  All  this  talk  about  the  religion  of  the 
jurors  is  of  course  exasperating  religious  animosities  in  Ireland  ; 
and  the  EngUsh  newspapers  attribute  this  to  us,  because  we 
complained  about  the  packing.  I  wonder  now  if  there  is  anybody 
in  Ireland  daring  enough  to  hint  that  the  religious  distinction  was 
made  by  the  Crown,  not  by  us — that  we  never  asked  to  be  tried 
by  Catholics  or  Repealers,  but  that  the  government  took  care  we 
should  be  tried  by  Protestants,  and  Castle  Protestants  only — that 
we  demanded  to  have  our  conduct  pronounced  upon  by  our 
countrymen  legally  represented  in  the  jury-list,  not  by  one  sect 
of  our  countrymen,  still  less  by  one  section  of  one  sect,  least  of 
all  by  twelve  men  skilfully  chosen  (by  those  who  knew  how  to 
choos^  out  of  that  section  of  that  sect.  But  I  suppose  nobody 
dares  to  say  this — Lord  Clarendon  would  soon  lay  up  the 
audacious  traitor  in  Newgate  as  a  suspected  person. 

23r^. — Saw  Dr.  Hall  to-day.  He  tells  me  that  my  letter  was 
referred  to  him  by  the  governor  for  his  official  opinion — that  he 
gave  it  distinctly  to  the  effect  that  I  am  a  dying  man,  unless  I  be 
removed  from  Bermuda  ;  and  the  governor  has  transmitted  this 
to  London.  In  process  of  time,  therefore,  I  may  probably  be 
removed,  unless  I  die  in  the  meantime. 

Mentioned  to  him  what  I  had  heard  about  the  Cape  ;  and  asked 
him  why  I  might  not  be  sent  to  that  place.  He  looked  surprised  : 
and  asked  me  if  I  really  wished  to  sail  in  a  transport  ship,  to  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  with  convicts.  I  answered,  "  Most  certainly 
— I  wish  to  go  to  any  country  where  there  is  air  I  can  breathe." 
He  said  the  ship  would  be  crowded  with  convicts.  Told  him  I 
did  not  care — I  wanted  to  fly  for  my  life,  and  would  not  be  choice 
either  in  my  conveyance,  or  my  company.  He  then  said  he  would 
certainly  mention  to  the  governor  the  conversation  he  had  with 
me  ;  and  as  there  would  still  be  time  to  communicate  with 
England  before  the  ship  would  sail  for  the  Cape,  he  had  little 
doubt  that  I  might  be  put  on  board  of  her,  if  I  chose. 

In  short,  I  believe  the  pirates  will  send  me  to  the  Cape.  And 
what  care  I  for  the  convict  ship's-company  ?  No  doubt  they  will 
give  me  a  separate  place  on  board,  for  my  own  accommodation, 


JAIL  JOURNAL  117 

as  usual,  out  of  no  love  for  me,  but  lest  I  should  raise  a  mutiny  ; 
for  they  have  a  wholesome  terror  of  my  propensities  and  talents 
in  that  way.  At  worst  it  will  be  but  a  two  or  three  months' 
voyage  ;  and  one  can  endure  anything  for  two  or  three  months. 

Christmas  Day. — They  have  had  service  on  deck  to-day.  The 
men  have  had  a  holiday.  The  weather  is  bright  and  warm  ;  and 
the  whole  of  this  wooden  building  is  reeking  with  plum-pudding. 
I  hear  a  distant  sound  of  loud  applause  and  stamping  of  feet,  re- 
minding me  of  Conciliation  Hall.  The  man  who  attends  me  says 
it  is  a  company  of  amateur  convicts  enacting  a  tragedy  on  the 
lower  deck  ;  the  guards  and  officers  are  among  the  spectators,  and 
there  is  a  general  gala — something  as  near  to  a  satumaUan  revel 
as  would  be  safe  among  such  a  crew  of  miscreants.  I  wish  them 
all  a  merry  Christmas,  and  many  happy  returns  of  the  same  ;  but 
I  doubt  if  it  ever  will  return  to  me  ;  I  am  sitting  all  day,  shrunk 
together  in  my  cell,  dismally  ill,  and  wrapped  up  in  coats,  like  a 
man  on  a  box-seat  of  a  coach.    Read  "  Antony  and  Cleopatra." 

Exit  the  year  1848. 

1849 — Jan.  i^th. — Bravo,  Forty-Nine  !*  Great  news  of  the 
French  Republic.  Prince  Louis  Bonaparte  (the  same  who  was 
transported  in  Louis  Philippe's  time)  is  elected  President,  and 
that  against  General  Cavaignac  !  The  English  newspapers,  which, 
to  my  horror,  are  my  sole  channels  of  intelligence,  are  in  high 
delight,  or  pretend  to  be.  For  this,  they  say,  is  a  distinct  re- 
nunciation and  abandonment  of  the  Republic.  If  it  were  the 
Republic  France  cared  for,  she  had  chosen  Cavaignac,  an  able 
man,  and  staunch  democrat ;  but  behold  !  they  neglect  Cavaigriac, 
and  all  France  runs  wild  after  the  imperial  name  of  Bonaparte. 
But  these  villainous  newspapers  see  in  the  transaction  just  what 
they  wish  to  see,  and  nothing  else  ;  or  rather,  put  on  it  the 
interpretation  which  they  wish  their  poor  stupid  readers  to 
receive  ;  and  let  them  receive,  and  swallow,  and  digest  it  for  the 
present.  Oh  !  let  there  be  no  premature  alarm  in  the  moneyed 
circles.    Let  Credit  stand  on  its  wooden  legs  as  long  as  it  may. 

*  I  fear  that  I  applauded  France  and  her  Prince  under  a  mistake  ;  but 
of  this  I  am  not  yet  quite  certain.  Respice  finem.  Therefore  I  leave  room 
hereunder  for  another  note.     Bothwell,  V.D.L.,  12th  February,  1853. 

Other  Note. — I  still  believe  in  the  French  Republic,  and  regard  the 
Emperor  as  an  accident,  and  his  alliance  with  England  a  delusion.  New 
York,  22nd  February,  1854. 


ii8  JAIL  JOURNAL 

But  the  French  worship  not  the  imperial,  but  the  heroic  name  of 
Bonaparte.  Republican  formula,  or  monarchical,  is  not  the  thing 
they  care  for  ;  but  the  glory  of  France  is  their  god.  Lalso  see  in 
this  thing  what  I  wish  to  see — and  I  see  in  it  an  expression  of  the 
great  national  want  of  France — that  thirst,  yearning,  burning, 
passionate,  in  the  soul  of  every  Frenchman,  to  he  quits  with 
Europe  for  Waterloo  and  the  occupation  of  France ;  and  to  tear 
into  small  shreds  the  Treaty  of  Vienna.  On  my  white  rock  here, 
hard  by  the  Tropic  of  Cancer,  comes  to  my  ear  in  melody  the  first 
growl  of  that  gathering  storm  which  is  destined  to  shake  the 
pillars  of  the  globe  :  St.  Helene  !  Waterloo  !  Vengeance  !  Now, 
ye  credit-funders,  look  to  it — Prenez  garde  !  ameliorators  of 
Celtic  Ireland  !     Ca  ira. 

Poor  sick,  Celtic  Ireland,  in  the  meantime  is  miserably  quiet, 
nobody  daring  to  utter  one  honest  word  about  public  affairs,  for 
fear  of  the  Castle-vigour.  O'Brien,  Meagher,  and  the  other  Clon- 
mel  convicts  have  had  their  case  argued  before  the  twelve  judges, 
on  a  writ  of  error.  Decision  against  them  of  course.  And  O'Brien 
and  MacManus  go  to  the  EngUsh  House  of  Lords.  Meagher,  it  is 
said,  has  decidedly  refused  to  do  this.  He  will  never  seek  for 
justice  out  of  Ireland.     Right,  brave  Meagher  ! 

O'Donoghue  follows  Meagher's  example  ;  but  still  I  can  learn 
nothing  about  Wilhams.  Since  his  arrest  I  have  not  once  met 
with  his  name.  He  was  very  delicate  in  health  ;  I  fear  their 
dungeons  have  killed  him.* 

I  have  been  very  ill  for  the  last  month  ;  but  do  not  yield  to  it 
an  inch.  Must  Uve,  if  I  can,  for  some  years  to  come.  It  may  be 
this  Napoleon  has  sought  the  Presidency,  not  with  Repubhcan, 
but  with  dynastic  views.  If  so,  he  is  an  idiot  as  well  as  a  traitor, 
and  his  empty  head  will  fall.  He  seems,  for  so  far,  to  mean 
fairly.  And,  heaven  !  what  a  destiny  is  within  his  grasp  ;  but 
has  he  brains  ?     And  a  heart  ? 

February  ist. — There  is  a  sort  of  "  commission  "  sitting  here, 
my  servant  tells  me,  consisting  of  Mr.  Hire,  Dr.  Hall,  and  several 
other  hulk  authorities,  to  determine  on  the  prisoners  who  are  to 


*  New  York,  February  22nd,  1854. — These  dismal  misgivings  as  to  the 
fate  of  Mr.  Williams  were  happily  illusory.  He  is  still  alive,  and  in 
Alabama  ;  though,  I  fear,  he  has  not  a  very  valuable  plantation  there. 
The  best  in  the  South  is  not  too  good  for  him. — J.  M. 


JAIL  JOUkNAL  tig 

he  fecomm6nded  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Several  men,  it 
seems,  to  whom  this  recommendation  was  offered,  have  refused  to 
leave  Bermuda.  This  servant  himself  has  been  placed  on  the 
list  and  intends  to  go.  He  tells  me  he  does  not  like  Bermuda. 
"  It's  a  rum  country,  sir,  is  this  'ere — one  of  the  nimmest  countries 
as  is."  I  asked  him  if  he  had  heard  of  any  objections  being  made 
by  the  people  of  the  Cape  against  receiving  them.  "  No,  sir," 
said  he — "  not  as  I  knows  on — I  S'pose  Government  will  take 
care  of  all  them  there  things." 

Get  on  but  slowly  with  my  translation  of  the  PoUteia  :  and 
nearly  repent  that  I  began  it ;  for  I  lack  energy  to  go  through 
with  it.  On  some  days  I  have  hardly  strength  to  mend  my  pen, 
or  strength  of  will  to  do  so  much  as  determine  upon  that  im- 
portant measure.  DawdUng  over  Keightley's  history  of  the  war 
in  Greece,  compiled  out  of  all  the  newspapers  and  all  the  memoirs. 
Full  enough  of  incident  certainly  ;  for  the  author  seems  to  give 
different  versions  of  the  same  event  as  so  meiny  different  trans- 
actions, and  he  ruthlessly  kills  more  Greeks  in  the  course  of  this 
war  than  there  have  been  in  all  Greece  at  one  time  since  the  days 
of  Philopcemen  not  to  speak  of  incredible  multitudes  of  Turks, 
whom  he  generally  slays  at  least  thrice.  Then  I  have  been  turn- 
ing lazily  over  the  pages  of  a  certain  "  magazine,"  called  the 
"  Saturday  Magazine,"  which  the  worthy  chaplain  has  lent  me. 
There  are  six  double  volumes  of  this  astounding  rubbish  ;  or  more 
properly  six  strata — a  huge,  deposit  of  pudding-stone,  rubble,  de- 
tritus and  scoriae  in  six  thick  stratifications ;  containing  great 
veins  of  fossil  balderdash,  and  whole  regions  of  what  the  Germans 
call  loss  and  trass  ;  amongst  which,  however,  sometimes  glances 
up  a  fragment  of  pure  ore  that  has  no  business  there,  or  a  gleaming 
splinter  of  diamond  illuminating  the  foul  opacity.  After  an  hour's 
digging  and  shovelling,  I  meet  perhaps  with  an  authentic  piece  of 
nosier  Thomas  himself — there  are  two  of  those  in  the  whole  six 
beds — and  once  I  turned  up  what  made  my  heart  leap — "  The 
Forging  of  the  Anchor  " — which  I  straightway  rolled  forth  till 
the  teak  timbers  rang.  There  are  a  great  many  not  intolerable 
wood  engravings  in  the  volumes,  and  some  readable  topographical 
description  :  but  on  the  whole  the  thing  is  of  very  base  material 
— "  Amusements  in  Science  " — "  Recreations  in  Religion  " — no, 
but "  Easy  Lessons  on  Christian  Evidences  " — much  apocryphol 


120  JAIL  JOUkNAL 

anecdotage  of  history,  but,  above  all,  abundant  illustrations  ol 
British  generosity,  valour,  humanity — British  wealth,  commerce, 
and  civilisation  :  statistics  of  cotton  fabric — how  many  million 
yards  of  it  are  made  by  the  year,  and  how  many  times  this  would 
go  round  the  globe,  marry,  I  believe  the  earth's  orbit — statistics 
of  steel  pens — how  many  tons  of  iron  are  snipped  up  into  pens, 
• — and  y^t  how  the  quill  trade  (delightful  to  know)  is  not  one 
feather  the  worse.  What  "  literature  " — what  commerce  there 
tnust  be'here  !  What  correspondence — what  scrip  !  How  many 
indictments,  parliamentary  reports,  and  bills  in  chancery  !  What 
book-keeping  I  What  book-making  !^ — Surely  there  is  no  end  to 
the  energy,  traffic,  wisdom,  property,  virtue,  and  glory  of  this 
immortal  British  nation  ! — This  is  the  character  of  all  popular 
British  "  literature  "  which  is  got  up  in  these  late  years  "  for  the 
million  "  (poor  million  !) — Its  look  is  wholly  introverted  :  it  can 
see  or  tell  of  nothing  in  the  world  but  the  British  empire  and 
colonies.  The  true  British  spirit  is  now-a-days  well  content  with 
itself — looks  no  longer  above  or  without  itself,  but  keeps  gazing 
with  stupid  delight  intently  at  its  own  navel.  The  symptom 
may  be  called  omphalohUpsy ,  and  is  diagnostic  of  a  very  fatal 
national  disease- — a  thorough  break-up,  I  trust,  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. 

And  how  happens  it  that  I  can  sit  for  hours  turning  over  (with 
many  a  pooh  !  and  psha !)  leaf  after  leaf  of  this  same  stratified 
debris  ?  If  I  despise  it  so  sovereignly,  cannot  I  shut  it  up  and  lay 
it  on  the  shelf  ?— nobody  has  set  me  a  task  in  it.  Yet  to  me  in- 
tently revolving  this  matter,  it  is  apparent  that  the  value  of  any 
book  is  not  in  the  mere  thoughts  it  presents  to  you,  expressed  in 
black-on-white,  but  rather  in  those  it  suggests,  occasions,  begets 
in  you,  far  outside  the  intentions  and  conceptions  of  the  writer, 
and  even  outside  the  subject  of  his  writing.  If  some  dull  rogue 
writes  you  an  essay,  on  what  he  does  not  understand,  you  are  not 
bound  to  follow  his  chain  of  reasoning  (as  perhaps  he  calls  it) — 
the  first  link  of  his  chain  may  fit  itself  to  other  Unks  of  your  own 
forging,  and  so  you  may  have  whole  trains,  whole  worlds  of 
thought,  which  need  not  run  upon  the  dull  rogue's  line,  nor  stop 
at  his  terminus.  One  must  not  disdain  to  draw  matter  of  reverie 
from  "  even  a  sot,  a  pot,  a  truckle  for  a  pulley,  an  oil  bottle,  or  a 
cane  chair."     But  what  talk  I  of  essays  and  writings  ?     Some 


Jail  jovk'NAi  121 

poor  wood-cut  turning  up  suddenly  in  this  paltry  magazine,  by  the 
fancied  likeness  of  one  feature  in  it — a  church  tower,  a  tree,  a 
human  eye,  or  lip — to  somewhat  you  have  seen  far  away  and  long 
ago,  may  carry  you,  as  on  a  sunbeam,  into  distant  valleys  of 
vision,  and  bless  your  eyes  with  gleams  of  a  wonderful  light, 
whose  fountain  who  shall  tell  ? — yes,  and  place  by  your  side  com- 
panions old  and  dear,  whose  discourse  you  hear  and  answer,  and 
whose  fare — so  real  is  the  presence — you  would  hold  it  but  just 
to  pay  to  any  ferryman  on  the  crossing  of  a  river — a  piece  of 
honest  deahng  inculcated  by  Uhland — 

"  Boatman,  take  this  coin,  I  pray  thee ; 
Thrice  thy  fare  I  cheerfully  pay  thee — 
For  though  thou  seest  them  not,  there  stand 
Anear  me,  Two  from  the  Phantom  Land." 

The  genesis  of  our  thoughts  is  a  mysterious  operation — not  yet 
fully  explained  by  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  with  his  Law  of  Association ; 
but  thus  much  seems  clear,  that  in  order  to  think  at  all,  one  has 
need  of  some  kind  of  mechanical  helps — in  utter  solitude,  dark- 
ness, and  silence,  your  intellect  would  soon  be  extinguished, 
drowned  in  that "  stagnant  sea  of  idleness,  blind,  boundless,  mute, 
and  motionless  " — and  idiocy  would  ensue,  or  raving  madness. 
When  a  man  is  shut  up  in  a  rigorous  confinement  for  many  months 
seeing  nothing  but  the  same  dungeon  walls,  the  same  bars,  the 
same  unwearied  sun  sending  the  same  shadows  every  evening  at 
the  same  pace  along  the  floor,  and  nothing  human,  save  a  most 
down-looking  and  felonious  felon,  setting  daily  food  before  him, 
the  intellect  cannot  but  stagnate,  starve,  and  grow  dull,  for  lack 
of  needful  food  and  exercise.  It  is  then  one  feels  the  value  of 
even  a  very  bad  book — of  anything,  in  short,  that  will  help 
imagination  and  memory  to  take  the  place  of  the  senses 
and  of  human  converse,  furnishing  occasion  and  stimulus  to 
thought. 

But  what  is  this  ?  Is  it  the  abyss  of  metaphysics  I  see  yawning 
before  me  ?  Assuredly,  I  will  not  plunge  into  that  bottomless  pit 
again,  after  having  drawn  myself  out  of  it,  with  pain  and  labour, 
full  fifteen  years  ago — just  so  long  is  it  since  I  endeavoured  to 
walk  with  my  own  head  in  my  teeth,  hke  the  decapitated  Christian 
martyr  celebrated  by  Mr.  Gibbon — or  to  rival  that  "  Irish  saint," 
known  to  Thomas  Carlyle,  who  swam  across  the  Channel  with  his 


122 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


head  so  secured — "  a  miracle,"  saith  Carlyle,  "  which  has  never 
been  repeated." 

But,  halting  on  this  side  the  brink  of  psychology,  I  have  yet 
made:  a  sort  of  excuse  for  at  man  in  soUtary  imprisonment  putting 
Up  with  exceedingly  bad  books.  They  may  be  to  him  a  suc- 
CedaneUrti,  in  some  sort,  for  the  various  scenes  and  intercourse  of 
life  and  the  ordinary  "  uses  of  this  world,"  which  you  know  are 
often  as  weary,  stale,  and  flat  almost  as  the  very  dullest  piece  of 
"  Kterature  "  ever  heaped  together — yet  out  of  which  you  can 
always  secrete  and  assimilate  so  much  various  pabulum  as  will 
keep  the  soul  from  devouring  itself.  Cor  ne  edito — it  is  not  whole- 
some :  stay  your  stomach  with  any  sort  of  garbage  rather  than 
that. 

February  yrd. — -Between  my  cabin,  and  the  place  occupied  by 
the  convicts,  are  two  wooden  bulks,  or  walls,  and  a  room  or 
passage  between  those  walls — yet  when  the  men  talk  loud  in 
quarrelling  or  argument,  I  often  hear  their  abominable  dis- 
course. To-day  I  heard  a  long  and  angry  dispute,  the  subject 
and  phraseology  of  which  I  shall  not  commemorate — ^but  all  that 
comes  to  my  ears,  or  eyes,  of  the  wa)^  of  life  in  this  place,  shows 
me  more  and  more  clearly  what  a  portentous  evil  is  this  transporta- 
tion system.  Each  hulk,  each  mess  or  ward,  is  a  normal  school  of 
unspeakable  iniquity  :  and  young  boys  who  come  out,  as  many 
surely  do,  not  utterly  desperate  and  incurable  villains,  are  sure 
to  become  so  very  soon  under  such  training.  I  hear  enough  to 
make  me  aware  that  the  estabUshed  etiquette  amongst  them  (for 
there  is  a  pecuUar  good  breeding  for  hulks  as  for  drawing  rooms) 
is  to  cram  as  much  brutal  obscenity  and  stupid  blasphemy  into 
their  common  speech  as  it  will  hold — and  that  a  man  is  respected 
and  influential  among  his  messmates  in  direct  proportion  to  the 
atrocity  of  his  language  and  behaviour.  Gambling  is  common,  and 
for  large  sums,  four  and  five  pounds  being  sometimes  lost  and  won 
at  a  game  of  cards.  A  few  of  them,  it  seems,  are  able  to  get 
money,  partly  by  stealing,  partly  by  traffic.  Those  who  work  in 
the  quarries  and  buildings  earn  threepence  per  day,  of  which  but 
one  penny  per  day  is  given  them  to  spend  :  but  there  are  trades- 
men, and  these  sometimes  work  at  their  trades  after  hours  ;  so  that 
in  one  way  or  another  they  contrive  to  carry  on  a  considerable 
traffic  with  the  Bermudians,  who  communicate  with  them  on  the 


Jail  journal  123 

works  in  various  Ways.  Many  prisoners  are  employed  constantly 
about  the  ship  as  boatmen,  servants,  and  the  like  ;  and  they 
have  ample  opportunities  to  steal,  of  which  they  avail  themselves 
to  the  fullest  extent.  If  any  of  them  were  to  discover  a  scruple 
about  stealing,  or  decUne  or  neglect  to  steal  when  he  might,  I 
find  it  would  ba  resented  as  an  offence  against  the  laws  and 
usages  of  the  commonwealth,  and  punished  accordingly.  In  short, 
evil  is  their  recognised  good — and  the  most  loathsome  extremities 
of  depravity  in  mind  and  body  are  their  summum  bonum.  Think 
of  a  boy  of  twelve  or  fourteen  years,  who  has  been  driven  by  want 
or  induced  by  example  to  commit  a  theft,  sent  to  school  at  Ber- 
muda for  half  his  lifetime,  in  order  to  reform  him !  But  what 
enrages  me  more  than  all  is  to  think  of  the  crowd  of  starved  Irish, 
old  and  young,  who  have  taken  sheep  or  poultry  to  keep  their 
perishing  famiUes  alive  in  the  Famine,  sent  out  to  Bermuda  to 
live  in  a  style  of  comfort  they  never  knew  before  even  in  their 
dreams,  and  to  be  initiated  into  mysteries  and  profotmd  depths 
of  corruption  that  their  mother  tongue  has  no  name  for.  About 
two  months  before  my  arrival  here,  came  out  a  great  shipload  of 
Irish — the  harvest  of  the  Famine  special  commission — from 
twelve  years  of  age  up  to  sixty.  They  were  all  about  three- 
quarters  starved,  and  so  miserably  reduced  by  hunger  and  hard- 
ship, that  they  have  been  dying  off  very  fast  by  dysentery.  As 
to  the  behaviour  of  these  poor  creatures,  I  learn  from  the  com- 
mander that  they  have  no  vice  in  them,  are  neither  turbulent  nor 
dishonest,  nor  give  any  trouble  at  all.  "  But,"  adds  the  com- 
mander, "  they  will  soon  be  as  finished  rufhans  as  the  rest."  No 
doubt  they  will,  poor  fellows.  He  informs  me  that  they  were 
astonished,  at  first,  at  the  luxuries  provided  for  them — fresh  beef 
three  days  in  the  week,  and  pork  the  other  days,  pea-soup,  tea, 
excellent  loaf -bread — things  they  had  never  seen  before,  except  in 
shops,  and  which  they  no  more  knew  how  to  use  than  Christopher© 
Sly.  Then  they  have  Uberty  to  write  home  as  often  as  they  hke  ; 
and  when  they  tell  their  half-starved  friends  how  well  a  felon  is 
fed,  what  can  be  more  natural  than  that  famished  Honesty  should 
be  tempted  to  put  itself  in  the  way  of  being  sent  to  so  plentiful  a 
country  ?  This  man  tells  me  he  has  many  prisoners  in  the  Drome- 
dary who  have  been  here  before,  and  not  a  few  in  their  third  term  ; 
that  he  has  several  fathers  and  sons  together ;   and  that  it  is- 


124 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


not  uncommon  to  find  families  who  have  been  hulked  for  three  or 
four  generations.  Hulking,  as  a  profession,  is  as  yet  confined  to 
England — that  it  will  become  a  more  favourite  line  of  business 
there,  as  the  poverty  of  the  English  poor  shall  grow  more  in- 
veterate, cannot  be  doubted.  God's  mercy  !  is  Ireland  not  to  be 
torn  out  of  the  hands  of  these  ameliorative  British  statesmen 
until  they  have  brought  this  crowning  curse  upon  her,  too  ? 

There  are  now  about  two  thousand  convicts  at  Bermuda — about 
a  thousand  at  Spike  Island  ;  how  many  may  be  at  Gibraltar  and 
AustraHa,  not  to  speak  of  the  several  depdts  for  them  in  England, 
I  know  not  ;  but  on  the  whole  there  is  an  immense  and  rapidly 
growing  convict  community  distributed  in  all  these  earthly  hells, 
maintained  in  much  comfort,  with  everything  handsome  about 
them,  at  the  cost  of  the  hard-working  and  ill-fed,  and  even  harder 
working  and  worse-fed  people  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland. 
That  there  is  a  limit  to  all  this,  one  may  easily  see. 

What  to  do,  then,  with  all  our  robbers,  burglars,  and  forgers  ? 
Why  hang  them,  hang  them.  You  have  no  right  to  make  the 
honest  people  support  the  rogues,  and  support  them  better  than 
they,  the  honest  people,  can  support  themselves.  You  have  no 
right  to  set  a  premium  upon  villainy,  and  put  burglars  and  rick- 
burners  on  a  permanent  endowment.  It  is  not  true  to  say  that  in 
Bermuda  (for  instance)  the  value  of  their  own  labout  supports 
them,  because  that  labour  is  employed  upon  most  extravagant 
public  works,  which  government  could  not  undertake  at  all  with- 
out convict  labour,  and  the  wages  come  out  of  the  taxes  paid  by 
the  honest  people  ;  in  short,  they  support  themselves  just  as 
seamen  on  board  a  man-of-war  support  themselves,  and  do  not 
earn  their  Uving  half  so  hard.  The  taxes  keep  up  the  "  convict 
service,"  just  as  they  keep  up  the  navy  and  the  excise  men. 

In  criminal  jurisprudence,  as  well  as  in  many  another  thing,  the 
nineteenth  century  is  sadly  retrogressive  ;  and  your  Beccarias, 
and  Howards,  and  Romillys  are  genuine  apostles  of  barbarism — 
ultimately  of  cannibahsm.  "  Reformation  of  the  offenders  "  is  not 
the  reasonable  object  of  criminal  punishment,  nor  any  part  of  the 
reasonable  object,  and  though  it  were  so,  your  jail  and  hulk 
system  would  be  the  surest  way  to  defeat  that  object  and  make 
the  casual  offender  an  irreclaimable  scourge  of  mankind.  Jails 
ought  to  be  places  of  discomfort ;  the  "  sanitary  condition  "  of 


JAIL  JOURNAL  125 

miscreants  ought  not  to  be  better  cared  for  than  the  honest,  in- 
dustrious people — and  for  "  ventilation,"  I  would  ventilate  the 
rascals  in  front  of  the  county  jails  at  the  end  of  a  rope. 

Feh.  8th. — Tired  to  death  of  reading  books — at  least  all  books 
of  an  instructive  sort — and  have  now  been  devouring  (for  about 
the  fifth  time)  "  Ivanhoe  "  and  "  The  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian." 
My  blessing  on  the  memory  of  Walter  Scott !  Surely  all  prisoaers 
and  captives,  sick  persons,  and  they  who  are  heavy  of  cheer, 
ought  to  pray  for  his  soul.  One  is  almost  reconciled  to  "  populajr 
literature,"  because  it  has  made  the  Waverley  Novels  common  as 
the  liberal  air. — A  famine  of  books,  I  begin  to  find,  is  very 
emaciating  :  and  I  know  not  well  how  I  am  to  ensure  a  due  supply. 
All  my  own,  my  well-known,  friendly  old  books  are  sold  off,  and 
I  cannot  allow  my  poor  wife  to  lay  out  any  part  of  her  small 
monies  on  books  for  me.  What  a  loss  to  a  bookish  man  is  the 
loss  of  his  own  books  !  books  in  which  you  can  turn  to  the  place 
you  want  as  easily  as  you  thread  the  walks  in  your  own  garden, 
whose  very  backs  and  bindings  are  familiar  countenances.  Of 
all  refinements  in  royal  luxury,  I  know  none  more  enviable 
(though  the  Pare  aux  cerfs  was  well  enough)  than  the  great 
Frederick's  library  arrangements.  He  had  five  palaces  ;  and,  in 
the  course  of  a  stirring  life,  had  to  spend  much  time  in  each  ;  but 
in  each  was  the  same  library :  same  editions,  same  bindings, 
same  disposition  on  the  shelves  ;  there  was  a  room  for  the  Ubrary 
of  like  size,  same  figure,  same  furniture  ;  so,  when  he  sat  down  by 
his  study-fire  of  an  evening,  in  the  same  dressing-gown  and  sHp- 
pers,  the  great  Frederick  was  always  at  home.  And  if  he  did  not 
want  to  turn  to  any  place  in  any  book,  but  preferred  dozing,  he 
knew,  at  least,  that  he  could  easily  turn  to  any  he  might  want, 
which  is  often  quite  as  good,  or  even  better. 

Feb.  12th. — Mr.  Hire,  the  superintendent,  came  to-day  to 
inform  me  that  the  governor  had  received  directions  to  let  me 
go  to  the  Cape,  where,  on  my  arrival,  I  am  to  be  set  at  liberty, 
but  within  a  limited  district,  and  under  poUce  surveillance.  So 
the  worst  seems  to  be  over  ;  that  is,  if  I  five  to  reach  the  Cape, 
of  which  Dr.  Hall  seems  doubtful. 

Mr.  Hire  tells  me  further,  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  discontent 
among  the  Cape  Colonists,  at  the  prospect  of  having  their  country 
made  a  receptacle  for  convicts,  but  that  it  seems  to  be  the  work 


126 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


of  a  faction,  and  that  the  Government  at  home  do  not  pay  it  any 
attention.  It  seems  to  me  very  strange  that  there  should  be 
"  factions  "  at  the  Cape  on  such  a  question — thet  they  do  not  rise 
up,  as  one  man,  to  resent  and  resist  such  an  outrage.  But  Africa 
knows  its  own  business  best.  It  is  no  concern  of  mine.  Certainly 
I  shall  have  no  scruple  in  going  anywhere  out  of  Bermuda. 

Feh.  22nd. — Opening  of  the  London  ParUament  on  the  ist  of 

this  month,  and  Queen's  Speech.    Her  Gracious  Majesty  asks  her 

Parliament  for  a  continuation  of  "  extraordinary  powers  "  in 

Ireland,  that  is,  continued  Suspension  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act, 

and  continued  powers  to  thrust  anybody  in  to  gaol,  without  any 

charge  against  him  ;    for,  although,  says  her  gracious  Majesty, 

"  Peace  "  has  happily  been  preserved,  "  there  still  exists  a  spirit  of 

disaffection  in  that  country."     What !     Even  still !  after  so  much 

amelioration  being  done  for  them — after  the  very  bulwarks  of  the 

Constitution,  Habeas  Corpus,  and  Jury-trial,  being  destroyed  for 

them — and  all  to  maintain  the  "  law  ?  " — after  the  land-appro- 

priators  being  strengthened  by  all  the  powers  of  government, 

special  commissions,  and  a  thundering  army,  to  exterminate  and 

transport  them  ;   and  all  for  their  own  good.    And  disaffection 

still !     Well,  there  is  no  gratitude  in  sinful  man. 

A  spirit  of  disaffection  !    Yes,  I  thank  God  there  is. 

April  1st.- — Festival  of  all  fools.     All  March  is  gone — thirty-one 

long  and  slow-pacing  days,  and  the  Cape  ship  not  yet  arrived.     I 

am  sick  to  death.    Dr.  Warner,  the  medical  officer  of  the  hulks, 

informs  me  that  he  communicated  with  Dr.  Hall,  some  days  ago, 

about  my  bad  state  of  health,  and  the  imcomfortable  nature  of  my 

quarters  here,  and  that  they  both  applied  to  the  governor,  to  have 

me  removed  once  more  to  the  hospital  ship,  where  I  should  have 

a  much  better  room  and  more  comforts  of  various  sorts,  but  without 

success.     It  was  not  by  my  wish,  or  with  my  knowledge,  that  such 

an  application  was  made,  for  I  never  ask  for  anything  or  complain 

of  anything,  in  respect  of  my  comforts  and  accommodations.    Dr. 

Warner,  however,  tells  me,  that  if  any  other  prisoner  in  the  colony 

had  been  in  my  condition  he  would  have  been  sent  to  the  hospital 

six  months  ago,  and  that  without  consulting  the  governor  at  all. 

It  is  still  judged  necessary  to  pietend  to  be  afraid  of  the  Americans 

coming  and  rescuing  me,  which  I  now  believe  to  have  been  bflt  a 

pretext  from  the  first.     So  now^  I  sit  constantly  panting  and 


<(H'*.^J'--""^7 


JAIL  JOURNAL  127 

struggling  in  asthma,  both  night  and  day,  exposed  to  a  damp  and 
bitter  north  wind,  that  sometimes  blows  out  my  candle  at  night ; 
for  the  ship  is  old,  and  the  port-hole  is  much  rounded  away  at 
the  edges,  so  that  the  casement  window  does  not  properly  fit  it. 
Of  course  there  is  no  fire. 

I  cannot  well  understand  the  intentions  of  the  "  Government  " 
with  regard  to  me,  or  divine  whether  their  instructions  to  my 
keepers  here  are  tp  be  kind  to  me,  or  to  kill  me.  I  said  so  to 
Dr.  Warner  to-day,  and  he  only  repUed  by  shaking  his  head.  Cer- 
tainly ten  months'  soHtary  confinement  of  a  sick  man  in  an 
unwholesome  den  is  but  a  doubtful  sort  of  indulgence.  But  I 
await  the  Cape  ship.  She  is  the  Neptune,  of  700  tons  ;  and  she 
sailed  from  England  on  the  15th  of  February.  They  are  now 
looking  out  for  her  every  day.  This  same  cruel  north  wind, 
that  blows  out  my  candle  at  night,  is  roaring,  I  trust,  upon  her 
quarter,  and  straining  tack  and  sheet  with  her  bellying  canvas. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

A-pril  2nd,  1849 — In  my  cell,  "  Dromedary  "  Hulk. — Yesterday 
ended  ten  months  of  my  exile  and  captivity — ten  months  out  of 
fourteen  years  leave  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  months.  What 
mortal  can  keep  Despair  and  the  Devil  at  bay  so  long  ?  and  all 
alone  ;   "  lone  as  a  corpse  within  its  shroud." 

April  $th. — The  Neptune  has  arrived,  and  is  to  sail  in  about  a 
fortnight.  There  is  still,  I  understand,  a  good  deal  of  agitation  at 
the  Cape  against  the  project  of  establishing  a  penal  colony  there  ; 
and,  assuredly,  it  is  a  brutal  act  of  tyranny,  if  it  be  indeed  done 
without  their  consent.  Our  authorities  here,  however,  seem  to 
make  very  light  of  it.  They  say  the  opposition  is  got  up  by  a 
parcel  of  canting  Dissenters. 

Have  been  reading  in  Tail's  Magazine  an  elaborate  review  of  a 
new  book  by  the  indefatigable  Government  literator,  Macaulay — 
no  less  than  a  "  History  of  England."  Tail  gives  copious  extracts 
from  which  I  easily  perceive  that  the  book  is  a  piece  of  authentic 
Edinburgh  Reviewing,  declamatory  in  style,  meagre  in  narrative, 
thoroughly  corrupt  in  principle,  as  from  all  this  man's  essays  on 
subjects  of  British  history  must  have  been  expected.* 

April  12th. — At  length  British  vigour  is  checked  in  Ireland, 
provided  it  be  now  firmly  met.  Mr.  Duffy  has  been  tried  for  his 
felony  a  second  or  a  third  time,  and  the  Crown  is  beaten  again  ; 
that  is,  they  have  failed  in  obtaining  a  conviction,  which  is  to 
them  utter  defeat.  Matters  have  arrived  at  the  point  I  aimed  at 
from  the  first  ;  the  "  Government  "  have  come  to  be  ashamed  of 
the  barefaced  packing  of  so  many  successive  juries ;    or  have 


*  Bothwell,  V.D.L.,  ^th  August,  1851. — I  have  read  the  book  itself  here  ; 
for,  having  become  one  of  the  most  popular  books  in  the  world,  it  is  even 
in  the  village  library  of  Bothwell.  Mem. — It  is  a  clever,  base,  ingenious, 
able,  and  shallow  political  pamphlet,  in  two  volumes.  This  writer  has 
the  rare  art  of  colouring  a  whole  narrative  by  an  apparently  unstudied 
adjective  or  two,  and  telling  a  series  of  frightful  falsehoods  by  one  of  the 
most  graceful  of  adverbs.  What  is  worse,  the  fellow  believes  in  no  human 
virtue — proves  Penn  a  pimping  parasite,  because  he  hated  penal  laws  ;  and 
makes  a,  sprt  of  Bromwicham  hero  out  of  the  dull  Dutch  Peliverer 

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JAIL  JOURNAL  '  129 

begun  to  see  that  it  is  impolitic — and  so  they  allowed  a  Repealer 
or  two  to  stand  amongst  the  twelve  who  tried  him.  And  of  course 
these  men  not  only  refused  to  agree  with  the  rest  in  finding  him 
guilty  (knowing  that  no  Irishman  can  be  guilty,  in  Ireland,  of  any 
offence  against  the  Queen  of  England) — but  some  of  them  insisted 
on  applauding  the  national  sentiments  of  the  prisoner's  counsel, 
with  "  Hear,  hear,"  and  clapping  of  hands.  This  is  very  good  and 
right,  and  highly  satisfactory.  British  "  law  "  in  Ireland  stands 
on  the  very  brink  of  the  bottomless  pool.  But  what  now  will  my 
Lord  Clarendon  do  ?  He  cannot,  and  dare  not,  allow  himself  to  be 
beaten  in  this  case  :  and  I  think  he  will  boldly  pack  on  the  next 
trial,  and  secure  this  one  conviction  at  all  hazards ;  for  Duffy  is  not 
only  editor  of  the  Nation,  but  is  the  very  man  who  urged  poor 
O'Brien  upon  his  Tipperary  war.  If  they  even  stay  proceedings 
against  him  now,  they  are  finally  vanquished,  and  he  can  drive 
Government  into  the  sea.  He  can  :  but  will  he  ?  dare  he  ?  Alas  ! 
the  unfortunate  man  is  too  evidently  cowed  and  prostrated  to  the 
earth — he  produced  on  his  trial  evidence  of  character — Uterally, 
people  to  bear  witness  of  his  good  moral  character  in  private  life 
— and  not  only  that,  but  of  his  legal  and  constitutional  character. 
I  read  that  Father  Mathew  and  Bishop  Blake  were  brought  for- 
ward to  prove  that  Mr.  Duffy  is  not  only  a  very  amiable  and 
religious  person,  but  also  far  from  being  the  sort  of  a  man  to 
meditate  illegal  violence,  or  the  disturbance  of  "  social  order  " — 
not  he.  Carleton,  too,  is  produced  to  give  his  testimony  to  the 
prisoner's  general  character — of  which  Carleton  is  an  admirable 
judge.  And,  what  is  almost  worse  than  all,  the  poor  man  tries  to 
evade  the  responsibility  of  some  of  the  prosecuted  articles,  by 
proving  that  they  were  not  written  by  himself.  This  is  all  very 
wretched  work  ;  yet  still,  unless  there  be  some  utterly  ignomini- 
ous concession,  "  Government "  will  not  be  reheved  from  the 
difficulty.  He  is  led  back  to  prison  ;  and  try  him  they  must  at 
the  next  Commission  ;  and  they  must  pack  the  jmy,  and  that  very 
closely,  or — oh  !  it  is  a  fine  thing  to  see  a  "  hberal,"  a  "  progiessive 
a  "  conciUatory  "  British  Government  brought  to  this. 

I  shall  be  very  anxious  to  hear  the  result  of  the  next  trial.  Would 

to  God  there  were  someone  foimd  in  Ireland  to  press  the  enemy 

hard  now  !  Would  to  God  it  were  in  this  man  to  do  his  duty  !  He 

this  Duffy,  might  now  win  to  himself  the  immortal  honour  of 

S 


130  JAIL  JOURNAL 

abolishing  English  law  in  Ireland,  if  his  fine  private  character 
would  but  allow  him.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  to  try  out  this 
legal  controversy — a  drawn  battle  will  not  do  ;  all  constitutional 
rubbish  must  be  swept  away,  and  the  ground  cleared  for  the  trial 
of  the  final  issue.  The  battle  of  the  (Irish)  Constitution  must  be 
fought,  in  the  jury-box  first,  then  in  the  streets,  lastly  in  the 
fields. 

To-day,  without  a  moment's  warning,  I  was  carried  off  from  the 
Dromedary  in  a  boat,  and  brought  to  the  hospital-ship  once  more. 
The  Neptune  is  to  sail  within  a  week  ;  and  it  seems  I  am  to  have  a 
few  days'  hospital  treatment,  to  fit  me  for  so  long  a  voyage ;  "  lest 
they  should  find  it  necessary,"  says  Dr.  Hall,  '*  to  lower  you  from 
the  yard-arm  between  this  and  the  Cape."  He  says  that  he  pro- 
cured this  arrangement  with  difficulty,  by  distinctly  certifying 
that  I  am  too  ill  to  be  put  on  board  ship,  and  that  in  his  opinion 
there  is  danger  I  ma)'  not  survive  the  voyage.  I  did  not  think  I 
had  been  so  ill ;  curse  on  them  ;  they  have  gone  near  to  murder 
me.  Yet  I  do  not  beheve  that  the  voyage  will  be  hurtful  to  me, 
or  that  I  am  now  in  danger  of  death.  The  danger  was  in  being 
kept  in  sohtary  confinement  here.  Indeed,  weak  as  I  am  in  body, 
I  feel  stronger  in  soul  than  ever  I  was ;  for  which  I  sincerely 
thank  Almighty  God.  Many  foul  shadows  that  seemed  threaten- 
ing to  rise  up  between  me  and  the  sun  have  scattered  themselves 
and  sunk.  I  have  risen  into  a  clearer  atmosphere,  and  feel  myself 
more  in  accord  with  whatsoever  is  good  in  this  world.  Let  some 
philosopher  account  to  me,  upon  either  physiological  or  psycho- 
logical principles,  which  he  pleases,  for  this  phenomenon — the 
mind  growing  strong  as  the  frame  grows  weak — growing  hopeful, 
contented,  indomitable,  the  nearer  a  man  looks  upon  the  face  of 
death  ;  death  in  a  dungeon  ;  death  among  his  enemies.  For  my 
own  part,  I  bethink  me,  that  if  there  be  work  for  me  to  do  on 
the  earth,  the  Almighty  will  keep  me  aUve  to  do  it,  and  draw  me 
out  of  this  pit  in  His  own  time — that  if  not.  He  knows  what  is 
best  for  every  one  of  us  ;  can  raise  up  friends  and  guides  for  my 
children,  better  friends  and  guides  than  I  could  ever  be  ;  can  find 
means  and  instruments  that  I  never  dream  of,  to  elevate  our  poor 
country  out  of  the  dust,  and  set  her  high  among  the  nations, 
and  give  her  peace  and  prosperity  within  her  cottages.  In  short, 
everybody  can  do  without  me  ;  and  if  I  am  to  perish  in  this  exile. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  131 

I  shall  take  it  as  a  certain  sign  that  all  things  will  go  on  better 
without  me.  Yet  I  do  ardently  desire  to  Uve  and  to  act :  to 
rear  my  own  children,  to  do  my  own  duties,  to  act  and  speak 
amongst  men  that  which  I  know  to  be  just  and  true.  And  all 
this  will  I  do  if  it  be  God's  will ;  if  otherwise,  then  God's  will 
be  done. 

Dr.  Hall  is  veiy  kind  and  attentive  to  me  ;  seems  determined  to 
give  me  as  much  health  as  I  can  take  in  for  the  time  I  remain  here. 
The  weather,  too,  has  decidedly  turned  to  summer  again,  and  that 
very  suddenly,  so  that  all  chances  are  in  my  favour.  The  islands 
around  this  bay,  where  the  Tenedos  is  moored,  with  their  green 
fruit  gardens  and  dark  cedar  groves,  and  narrow  beach  of  white 
sand,  are  hke  opening  paradise  to  me,  after  the  dockyard  and  its 
loathsome  hulks. 

April  13th. — I  have  just  been  gratified  (no  matter  how  or  by 
whom)  with  a  sight  of  some  newspapers,  which  announce,  among 
other  things,  a  signal  defeat  of  the  enemy  in  the  Punjab,  at  the 
hands  of  the  gallant  Sikhs.  The  Governor-General  of  India  is 
hastening  to  support  Lord  Gough  with  large  forces,  and  there  will 
probably  be  a  sharp  campaign  there.  The  British  will  un- 
doubtedly make  desperate  efforts  to  retrieve  their  fortune,  even 
though  they  should  immediately  after  evacuate  the  country 
altogether — having  first  robbed  and  desolated  it — as  they  did  in 
the  case  of  Cabool.  The  expenses  of  all  this,  however,  will  be 
vast ;  it  is  not  the  plimder  of  a  few  cities  that  will  cover  it ; 
and  so  will  the  good  work  speed.     "  Great  is  bankruptcy." 

Meantime,  Europe  is  arranging  itself  into  very  singular  com- 
binations. England,  after  fostering  Lombard  Uberalism,  is  now 
courting  and  flattering  Austria — feeling  that  a  day  may  shortly 
come  when  she  cannot  do  without  Austria  ;  then  Austria,  for  her 
part,  cannot  do  at  all  without  Russia,  which  brings  England  and 
Russia  en  rapport,  as  they  ought  to  be,  for  they  are  natural  aUies. 
And  then  Hungary  is  not  subdued  yet,  as  the  murderous  EngUsh 
newspapers  boasted  she  was  :  on  the  contrary,  with  Poland  (or 
rather  Poles)  to  aid,  she  seems  far  more  likely  to  subdue  Austria, 
And  then  you  may  be  sure  Russia  cannot  bear  that  Hungary  and 
the  Poles  should  become  friends  ;  and  begin  defying  emperors — 
so  she  will  thrust  in  her  weighty  sword.  And  then  the  tricolor  of 
France  flies  out,  and  Lombardy,  Italy,  North  Germany  are 


132 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


up  :  and  then  slowly  and  reluctantly  the  British  leopard  (or 
"  lion,"  as  the  brute  calls  himself)  must  come  up  to  the  scratch — 
slowly  and  reluctantly,  for  he  had  much  rather  roar  in  India,  or 
New  Zealand,  or  (after  carefully  disarming  the  people)  in  Ireland. 
And  Ireland,  one  is  alarmed  to  hear,  has  a  "  spirit  of  disaffection," 
• — and  will,  ere  long,  have  an  opportunity  of  showing  whether 
she  can  do  anything  but  keep  eternally  moaning  her 
"  grievances." 

All  this  while  Germany  is  bringing  herself  to  bed  of  something 
she  calls  a  Constitution,  with  much  travail,  at  Frankfort ;  which 
Constitution  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  even  the  old  hyena  of 
Hanover,  will  be  sure  to  reject  and  set  at  naught.  The  Con- 
stitution, I  can  foresee,  will  be  still-born  ;  and  North  Germany, 
Prussia,  Hanover,  and  all,  will  become  perforce  repubUcan.  Kings 
and  Grand  Dukes  will  not  suffer  them  to  stop  short  of  that — men 
will  waken  some  morning  in  Cologne  and  Cassel,  and  Carlsruhe 
and  Baden,  and  Berlin,  and  find  themselves  in  battle  with  kings 
and  kingships — they  will  awaken  to  the  fact  that  kings  are  not  to 
be  trusted,  not  to  be  bound  by  any  treaty,  character,  or  pact  with 
their  subjects,  nor,  in  short,  to  be  otherwise  dealt  with — once 
their  office  becomes  useless — than  by  the  old  and  well-known 
method,  war  to  the  knife,  and  amputation  of  the  crown,  with  the 
head  in  it.  Thus  Germany  is  preparing  her  part  for  the  great 
European  melee.  As  for  France,  she  seems  wholly  occupied  just 
now  in  settling  her  internal  affairs  ;  and,  indeed,  before  she  settles 
into  her  normal  state,  she  may  fall  into  strange  confusions  and  do 
the  wildest  things  ;  for  our  worthy  France  is  somewhat  eccentric  ; 
but  in  the  coming  journee — once  European  affairs  are  brought  so 
far — there  is  no  doubt  or  uncertainty  as  to  where  gallant  France 
will  be  found.  Let  the  trumpet  sound,  and  France  will  be  in  her 
place  with  sword  on  thigh.  Such  is  the  programme,  I  imagine 
to  myself  :   but  the  thing  may  arrange  itself  otherwise. 

In  the  meantime,  one  is  truly  concerned  to  learn,  by  her 
Britannic  Majesty's  gracious  speech,  that  Ireland  cherishes  a 
spirit  of  diasffection. 

There  is  a  gallant  game  toward.  And  am  I  to  he  groaning  in 
a  wooden  gaol  here  in  the  Atlantic,  or  pruning  vines  in  African 
captivity,  under  southern  constellations,  while  kingships  and 
nationhoods  are  lost  and  won  ?     I  trow  not. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  133 

April  20th. — The  spring  weather  here  has  become  most  genial, 
and  sky,  sea,  and  land  are  altogether  lovely  to  see.  This  ship  is 
not  mooied  fore-and-aft,  but  swings  by  the  head  ;  and  from  my 
cabin  window,  by  night  and  by  day,  I  can  see  the  whole  amphi- 
theatre of  isles  circling  panoramically  roimd,  as  the  wind  shifts. 
Sometimes  the  rising  sun  will  stream  bright  into  my  window,  and 
the  same  evening,  through  the  same  window,  the  setting  sun  will 
blaze  redly  in  ;  and  perhaps  by  the  next  morning,  as  I  open  my 
eyes  (for  I  have  begun  to  sleep  again),  I  can  see  from  my  pillow 
once  more  the  dawn  blushing,  and  the  eastern  side  of  St.  George's 
a  perfect  amethyst.  Here  is  the  advantage  of  living,  not  on  the 
dull,  tame  shore,  but  in  a  heUotrope  hulk.  About  two  miles  off 
lies  the  great  flagship,  and  astern  of  her  the  Neptune,  a  stately 
ship  enough,  with  the  man-of-war  pennant  flying  from  her  main 
top,  which  it  seems,  she  is  entitled  to  carry,  as  having  a  naval 
officer  on  board — the  surgeon-superintendent,  namely,  who  is  to 
have  command  of  the  prisoners. 

The  Neptune  is  to  sail  the  day  after  to-morrow.  I  am  told 
there  is  a  separate  little  cabin  fitted  up  for  me,  opening  upon  the 
quarter-deck,  so  that  I  shall  enjoy  otium  cum  dignitate  during  the 
voyage,  as  befits  a  gentleman.  Voyage  ! — voyage  to  Africa. 
Sometimes  I  open  my  eyes  vigorously,  and  rub  my  ears,  and 
take  my  personal  identity  to  task.  Can  this  be  the  very  Ego, 
late  John  Mitchel,  sometime  of  Upper  Leeson  Street,  who  is 
going  to  sail  in  that  tall  ship  to  the  land  of  the  Caffirs  and 
Bosjesmans,  Dutch  boers,  and  springboks  ?  It  seems  indubitable 
— hoc  est  corpus  meum — yea,  verily 

"  Me  vel  extremos  Numidarum  in  agros 
Classe  releget." 

Yes,  indeed,  you  John  Mitchel,  now  resident  in  Bermudian 
hulks,  and  numbered  2014,  are  about  to  cross  the  fine,  and 
navigate  southern  oceans,  in  the  track  of  Bartolomeo  Diaz. 


TTjAovpov  Sc  yr)v 

H^ets  KiXaLvov  <^vXov  ol  Trpos  17A10V 
Naioiwi  TTTjyats  ;  evda  Trorafios  AWioip. 

How  these  lines  and  syllables  of  poetry,  in  divers  tongues, 
throng  upon  my  memory  in  this  sohtude.    The  less  one  has  to 


134 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


observe,  to  do,  to  be,  ajid  to  suffer,  the  less  present  life  he  has — 
the  more,  perhaps,  he  remembers  of  the  past.  If  not  by  way  of 
outward  eye  or  ear,  then,  by  memory  and  imagination,  will  come 
in  grist  for  the  spiritual  mill :  this  is  Uke  the  ears  of  a  blinded 
man  growing  keener,  to  give  his  darkened  mind  what  help  they 
can — one  faculty  of  soul  or  sense  sharpening  itself  as  another 
dulls — the  impressions  of  the  past  growing  vivid  as  the  soul 
shuts  itself  from  the  present.  To  me,  in  these  long,  lonely  months, 
with  about  as  high  development  of  present  Ufe  as  a  zoophj^e, 
working  at  less  than  oyster-power,  many  scenes  of  my  hot  youth, 
scenes  long  forgotten — have  arisen  fresh  and  clear,  almost  with 
the  glow  of  present  action  and  passion  :  and  I  now  recall,  without 
effort,  lines  and  passages  from  books,  read  twenty  golden  years 
ago,  that  I  could  not  have  repeated  two  years  ago,  no,  not  to  save 
my  neck  from  the  Barons  of  the  Exchequer.  In  what  Umbo  did 
those  memories  sleep  all  that  while  ? 

But  not  to  go  further  towards  the  brink  of  the  abyss  pro- 
found, it  is  very  certzdn  my  memory  has  improved  at  Bermuda. 
And  monuar !  monuar  !  I  wish  no  darker  memories  crowded  upon 
me  than  hues  of  ^Eschylus  or  Horace  :  but  my  whole  hfe  lies 
mirrored  before  me  ;  and  it  is  not  bright  nor  fair  to  see.  I  would 
that  I  could  find  In  it  one  single  good  action  (besides  the  action 
for  which  I  was  convicted  as  a  felon).  I  wish  the  mild  shade  of 
my  father  wore  a  less  reproachful  aspect — and  I  wish  he  had 
less  reason * 

Surely,  it  is  in  youth  man  is  most  thoroughly  depraved.  Hell 
lies  about  us  in  our  infancy.  The  youthful  innocency  sung  by  aged 
poets  (who  forget  their  first  childhood)  is  nothing  but  ignorance  of 
evil.  As  the  child  comes  to  know  evil,  he  loves  it ;  and  by  the 
time  he  is  entering  on  manhood,  in  the  very  pride  and  flush  of 
hfe,  then  his  heart  is  often  hard  as  adamnant,  and  so  trans- 
cendental is  his  selfishness,  that  he  has  become  a  god  unto  him- 
self, and  owns  none  other ;  if  he  tells  the  truth,  and  is  honest 
towards  his  fellows,  it  is  out  of  pride  and  scorn  he  does  it.  Your 
fine,  ingenuous  young  man  is  commonly  the  wickedest  creature 
on  this  side  Gehenna.    I  do  solemnly  beheve  this.    Whatsoever 

•  This  passage  is  liable  to  be  misunderstood.  Mitchel  was  free  from 
what  is  euphemistically  termed  the  indiscretions  of  youth.  He  refers  to 
his  having  frequently  taken  his  own  course  when  a  youth  without 
consulting,  and  sometimes  in  opposition  to,  his  father's  wishes. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  135 

of  good  is  ever  found  in  man's  nature  is  won  by  sore  conflict  with 
the  devil — that  is,  with  himself.  The  foul  heart  is  purified  by 
suffering  alone  :  the  hard  heart  is  softened  only  by  passing 
through  the  "  flint  mill."  And  what  now  if  this  same  hulking 
has  been  awarded  me  by  Almighty  God  in  mercy — as  a  lesson  I 
stood  in  need  of — seeing  that  nothing  less  would  do  ?  Of  ordinary 
troubles  that  befall  men,  indeed  I  had  a  good  share  before  ;  but 
this  peculiar  sort,  ignominious  personal  restraint,  was  a  part  of  my 
education  heretofore  neglected.  No  human  being  ever  enjoyed, 
prized,  and  exercised  an  unbounded  personal  freedom  of  action 
more  recklessly,  more  haughtily  than  I ;  and  there,  where  I  had 
pampered  my  own  pride  most,  even  there  it  may  have  been  need- 
ful for  me  to  be  made  to  feel  my  own  helplessness — to  feel  that  I 
am  not,  after  all,  "stronger  than  the  wonderful  and  terrible  God. 
And  so  a  gang  of  ruffians,  in  coronets  and  in  ermine,  were  com- 
missioned to  conspire  against  me,  and  carry  me  off  to  a  lonely 
cell,  where  a  turnkey  locks  me  up,  and  leaves  me  to  learn  and 
digest  my  hard  lesson,  and  "  ponder  the  path  of  life  "  at  leisure. 

Perhaps  it  is  good  for  me  to  be  here ;  but  no  thanks  to  the 
coroneted  and  ermined  ruffians. 

^How  I  do  ramble  and  rave,  giving  carte  blanche  to  the  pen 

of  rigmarole  !  I  have  been  talking  like  a  member  of  the  Tract  So- 
ciety— and  what  matter  ?  Why  should  I  not  talk  so,  if  I  say  but 
the  truth  ?  One  must  not  be  afraid  of  anything — ^not  even  of  be- 
coming worthy  to  be  admitted  into  the  Tract  Society.  But  I  grow 
too  discursive,  and  am  ashamed,  besides,  on  looking  back  over  all 
the  paper  I  have  blotted,  to  find  it  such  a  monstrous  mass  of 
egotism.  Even  in  a  sohtary  dungeon  a  man  ought  not  to  pay  him- 
self so  much  attention,  nor  confide  his  egoisms  even  to  his  faithful 
private  tablets.  What  am  /,  that  I  should  listen  to  myself  with 
such  respect,  and  even  take  down  my  own  remarks  on  paper  ? 
What  am  /  ?  Why,  am  not  I  The  Ego — the  very  Ego  meant  and 
insisted  upon  by  Fichte  ?  And  is  not  that  an  important  personage 
— rather  indeed  the  only  personage  ?  I  begin  to  doubt  whether 
there  is,  or  ever  was,  any  Non-Ego  at  all — even  Fichte  himself— 
even  the  turnkey.  I  am  the  All.  But  my  pretty  little  daughter  1 
You,  also,  I  think,  are  extant,  somewhere  in  infinite  space. 

April  21st — Saturday. — ^We  are  absolutely  to  sail  to-morrow  ; 
and  the  mail  from  England,  due  two  days  ago,  has  not  arrived.    I 


136  JAIL  JOURNAL 

may  now  have  to  set  sail  for  the  Cape,  without  having  received 
my  monthly  bulletin  from  Newry ;    and  then  who  knows  how 
many  months  will  pass  before  I  hear  how  my  darhngs  are  faring. 
Besides,  I  have  no  money :  I  never  would  allow  any  to  be  sent  to 
me  here,  but  in  my  last  letter  I  wrote  for  a  few  pounds,  that  I 
might  not  be  put  ashore  on  the  continent  of  Africa  in  a  state  of 
utter  destitution.     I  have  but  a  few  small  silver  coins  between 
me  and  a  state  of  nature,  and  may  have  to  turn  Bosjesman. 
Here  is  a  pretty  state  of  things  for  a  "  gentleman  of  education." 
The  Scourge  steamer,  in  which  I  was  originally  kidnapped, 
arrived  here  some  days  ago,  after  making  the  tour  of  the  West 
Indies  ;  and  has  now  just  sailed  for  England,  to  be  paid  off.    She 
has  been  lying  at  Bermuda  three  several  times  since  she  brought 
me  here  ;   and  I  have  often  wondered  that,  after  the  first  visit 
I  had  from  two  of  her  officers,  I  never  saw  any  of  them  again.  The 
first  Ueutenant,  indeed,  had  distinctly  promised  that  he  would 
come  sometimes  to  see  me,  and  he  never  came  at  all.    I  have  now 
got  some  newspapers  which  fully  explain  all  that.     It  seems  the 
admiral  on  the  station,  when  he  found  that  I  had  not  been  treated 
like  a  common  convict  during  my  voyage,  severely  censured  Capt. 
Wingrove  ;  and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  language  about  this  both 
in  Bermuda  and  in  England — gentlemen  in  Parliament  asked 
sharp  questions  of  Ministers  about  their  instructions  for  the  usage 
of  "  convict  Mitchel,"  to  wit — where  the  said  convict  dined,  and 
who  drank  wine  with  the  said  convict ;    and  British  "  pubUc 
opinion,"  so  agitated  and  indignant,  that  there  was  even  danger 
of  the  worthy  commander  being  dismissed  the  service.    Now,  it 
is  to  be  observed  here  that  British  public  opinion  was  altogether 
right ;  either  I  was  bona  fide  a  convict,  or  else  not  a  convict ;  if 
not  a  convict,  I  ought  not  to  have  been  carried  off  at  all ;  if  a 
convict,  I  ought  to  have  been  treated  exactly  like  other  convicts. 
But  it  appears  further,  that  the  aforesaid  opinion  grew  still  more 
inflamed  when  it  was  discovered  that,  on  my  short  voyage  from 
Dublin  to  Cork,  I  had  actually  breakfasted  with  the  surgeon  and 
other  officers  of  that  steamer,  also.    No  wonder  British  opinion 
felt  itself  insulted  :  had  it  not  pronounced  this  man  a  felon  with 
all  the  bellowing  of  its  manifold  lungs  in  ParUament,  in  the  press, 
not  to  speak  of  its  particular  "  jury  "  ?  and  would  nobody  con- 
sent to  look  upon  him  as  a  felon,  or  treat  him  as  a  convict  after 


JAIL  JOURNAL  137 

jill  ?  So  the  poor  Shearwater  surgeon  (on  whom,  I  know  not  why, 
the  blame  chiefly  fell)  was  pounced  upon  by  the  Admiralty  with 
much  apparent  fury  ;  and  some  l5ang  excuse  or  other  had  to  be 
invented  for  him.  That  lying  excuse  I  have  not  seen,  but  have 
just  been  reading  the  l5dng  excuse  made  in  ParUament  for  Com- 
mander Wingrove,  on  the  last  occasion  of  this  matter  being 
opened  in  the  legislature  ;  for  I  now  perceive  that  it  has  been  a 
standing  subject  for  months  ;  and  a  Mr.  Robinson,  a  Mr.  Lock- 
hart,  and  Colonel  Vemer,  member  for  county  Armagh,  whenever 
they  wanted  to  embarrass  Ministers,  would  start  up  from  time  to 
time  and  desire  to  be  informed  how  convict  Mitchel  fared  on  his 
way  to  Bermuda  ?  who  conversed  with  him  ?  whether  his  hair 
was  dressed  according  to  the  convict  cut  ?  and  whether  he  was 
kept  properly  at  his  work  in  the  quarries  there  ?  Well,  on  the 
last  of  these  occasions,  as  I  find  it  reported  in  the  Times,  a  certain 
Admiral  Dundas  (one  of  the  lords  of  Admiralty,  I  beheve)  assured 
the  House  that  the  instructions  in  the  case  of  the  convict  Mitchel 
were,  that  the  commander  of  the  ship  should  treat  him  as  a  con- 
vict on  his  passage,  and  keep  him  in  a  separate  place,  so  as  not 
to  permit  him  to  mingle  with  the  officers  of  the  ship  ;  but  that,  as 
there  was  no  second  cabin  in  the  Scourge,  Captain  Wingrove  had 
been  obliged  to  keep  him  in  his  own  cabin,  and  entertain  him  at 
his  own  table  ;  but  that  he  had  been  kept  most  strictly  apart 
from  the  other  officers.     How  very  gravely  these  rascals  he. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Scourge  has  a  separate  cabin,  as  this  lord 
of  the  Admiralty  must  know  ;  and  that  second  cabin  was  my 
room  ;  I  slept  there,  had  exclusive  use  of  the  room,  and  as  there 
were  couches,  chairs,  and  a  table  in  it,  there  was  nothing  to  hinder 
my  being  served  with  meals  there,  if  such  had  been  the  instruc- 
tions. But,  in  the  second  place,  such  were  not  the  instructions  ; 
instead  of  being  ordered  to  treat  me  as  a  convict.  Captain  Win- 
grove was  specially  ordered  to  treat  me  not  as  a  convict,  but  as 
a  "  gentleman." 

And,  in  the  third  place,  it  is  untrue  that  I  was  kept  apart  from 
the  officers  ;  I  spent  most  of  my  time  on  deck,  in  company  with 
the  officers. 

So  the  statement  of  this  admiral  is  a  falsehood  on  the  whole 
and  in  each  of  its  parts  ;  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  Dundas 
lied. 


138 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


Commander  Wingrove,  I  am  very  sure,  was  no  party  to  the 
falsehood. 

But  I  find  further,  that  while  Admiral  Dundas  lied  in  the  Com- 
mons, Lord  Landsowne  lied  in  the  Lords  ;  for  he  told  their  lord- 
ships, in  reply  to  a  similar  inquiry  in  that  House,  that  it  was  true 
the  instructions  given  to  the  commander  of  the  Scourge  permitted 
him  to  use  his  discretion  as  to  his  treatment  of  the  prisoner,  on 
the  ground  of  Mr.  Mitchel's  delicate  state  of  health.  This  also  is  a 
mere  falsehood.  Captain  Wingrove  had  no  discretion  allowed 
him  in  the  matter ;  Captain  Wingrove  had  never  heard  of  my 
delicate  health  ;  and  neither  had  Ministers  ;  nor  had  I  then  made 
any  complaint  of  ill-health  at  all.  Thus  did  these  two  liars  of 
State  lie  inartistically  for  want  of  concert.  May  God  help 
us,  and  forgive  us  all  our  sins. 

So  much  I  set  down  here  upon  a  subject  immeasurably  small, 
because  I  may  have  occasion  to  call  it  to  mind,  small  as  it  is, 
hereafter.  It  was  extremely  immaterial  to  me  where  a  cover  was 
laid  that  I  should  dine,  or  in  whose  company  I  sat  down  to  table. 
My  practice  has  been,  ever  since  I  fell  into  the  hands  of  my 
enemies,  to  sit,  stand  or  walk,  wheresoever  I  am  desired,  as  be- 
comes a  true  prisoner,  and  to  eat  such  things  as  are  set  before  me 
without  remark.  Neither  did  I  feel  at  all  honoured  by  being  in- 
vited to  Capt.  Wingrove' s  table  :  nor  should  I  have  felt  degraded 
if  he  had  thrust  me  into  the  lowest  dungeon  in  his  ship  in  chains. 
When  the  British  Government  got  me  nicknamed  "  Felon,"  and 
sent  me  away  from  my  own  country,  as  a  convict  they  did  their 
worst :  it  is  impossible  for  them  or  their  servants,  by  any  severities 
or  by  any  "  indulgences,"  either  to  aggravate  or  to  mitigate  that 
atrocity. 

On  the  whole,  I  sympathise  with  the  outraged  public  opinion 
of  the  British  nation — generous,  chivalrous,  magnsuiimous 
British  nation. 

April  22nd — Sunday. — My  last  day  in  Bermuda  ;  it  is  a  bright 
spring  morning,  and  the  first  thing  I  saw,  as  my  eyes  opened,  was 
the  mail  steamer  shooting  across  the  smooth  bay  towards  the 
dockyard.    So  I  shall  have  my  bulletin  from  Newry. 

A  boat  is  to  come  for  me  after  breakfast.  I  am  not  sure  that  I 
shall  be  allowed  to  go  without  being  questioned,  or  possibly 
searched  for  papers  :  this  memorandum  book  may  be  taken  from 


JAIL  JOURNAL  139 

me  ;  and  if  anybody  should  chance  to  take  the  trouble  of  reading 
it,  I  fear  a  seditious  expression  may  be  found  in  it  here  and  there. 
It  is  true,  I  have  never  been  questioned  in  this  way  yet :  even  my 
portmanteau  has  not  been  searched  ;  and  how  the  authorities  here 
reconcile  this  with  their  duty,  I  know  not.  For  aught  they  know, 
I  may  have  in  that  portmanteau,  picklocks,  files,  and  a  brace  of 
pistols,  or  even  an  infernal  machine.  For  aught  they  know,  I  have 
been  employing  my  Uterary  leisure  to  indite  seditious  and  dis- 
affected writings,  qua  mox  depromere  possim. — But  all  this  is  their 
affair,  not  mine.  In  the  meantime  I  keep  my  book  in  my  pcoket, 
and  my  window  open,  until  I  get  fairly  off — intending,  if  any 
search  be  instituted,  to  throw  my  valuable  remarks  overboard, 
using  means  to  load  the  Uttle  book  so  that  it  must  go  to  the 
bottom. 

Four  o'clock. — At  sea.  The  cedar-groves  of  Bermuda  are 
sinking  below  the  hazy  horizon. — So  ends  my  "  Dream  of  the 

Summer  Islands." 

****** 

Received  my  letter  from  home.  Through  the  kind  courtesy  of 
the  governor,  it  was  sent  to  me  after  I  was  on  board,  and  arrived 
just  as  the  Neptune  was  weighing  anchor.  All  well  at  home. 
I  have  written  a  very  long  and  cheerful  letter  to  my  wife  ;  for  in- 
deed matters  begin  to  look  somewhat  brighter  for  us  :  I  begin  to 
see  day-light :  my  health  has  been  improving  rapidly ;  will  pro- 
bably continue  to  improve  at  sea  :  and  why  may  it  not  be  com- 
pletely re-estabhshed  in  the  cUmate  of  Africa  ?  Then  it  does  not 
seem  clear  that  the  "  Government,"  intend  to  keep  me  confined 
to  the  Cape  :  Lord  Grey,  I  see,  talks  of  something  that  he  calls  a 
"  conditional  pardon,"  to  be  obtainable  by  the  prisoners  who  go 
to  the  Cape,  on  pajnnent  of  fifteen  pounds — and  the  effect  of 
which  will  be  to  make  them  "  free  exiles,"  free,  namely,  to  go 
anywhere  they  please,  except  to  Ireland,  England,  or  Scotland. 
If  I  can  get  this  document  (whatever  its  name  is)  for  £15,  I  will 
certainly  buy  it,  and  think  it  very  cheap  at  the  money.  What  is 
it  to  me  that  they  choose  to  call  it  a  "  pardon  "  ?  If  they  even 
call  it  a  plenary  indulgence,  or  a  charm  against  the  bite  of  a  mad 
dog,  still  I  will  gladly  become  the  purchaser  of  an  article  that 
enables  me  to  withdraw  myself  from  under  the  poisonous  shadow 
of  the  Carthaginian  flag.    Then  if  this  "  pardon  "  be  not  for  me. 


140 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


at  the  worst  it  is  but  living  a  few  years  in  some  quiet  nook  in 
Stellenbosch  or  Swellendam,  amongst  my  own  people,  surrounded 
by  the  worthy  Dutch  folk,  and  patriarchally  tilling  the  ground, 
and  pastorally  keeping  sheep,  until  my  deUverance  come. 

Some  doubt  indeed  still  seems  to  me  to  hang  over  the  disem- 
barkation at  the  Cape  :  the  last  intelUgence  from  thence  shows 
that  the  spirit  of  opposition  to  such  a  measure  is  increasing  ;  yet 
Dr.  Dees,  the  surgeon-superintendent,  who  has  charge  of  the 
Neptune,  tells  me  his  instructions  are  positive,  and  that  he  carries 
out  instructions,  equally  positive,  to  Sir  Harry  Smith,  the 
governor,  for  instant  disembarkation  of  the  whole  crew.  Still,  if 
the  colonists  make  it  manifest  that  they  are  nearly  unanimous  in 
opposition,  or  even  that  a  large  minority  of  them  feel  strongly 
opposed  to  the  introduction  of  convicts  into  their  country,  it 
would  surely  be  very  tyrannical  and  insolent  in  the  English  govern- 
ment to  force  the  matter  with  a  high  hand.  To  have  one's 
country  and  the  home  of  one's  children  turned  into  a  sink  of 
felony,  where  the  colluvies  of  a  vast  empire  is  to  settle  and  fester, 
is  no  light  matter.  I  shall  certainly  feel  no  surprise  if  we  find 
on  our  arrival  at  the  Cape  that  Sir  Harry  Smith  has  received 
orders  to  pass  us  on  to  AustraUa. 

For  my  own  particular,  I  might  perhaps  not  choose  to  sail  in 
this  ship,  with  the  chance  of  being  carried  all  round  the  habitable 
globe  with  such  a  ship's  company,  knocking  at  the  door  of  all  the 
continents  and  isles,  to  see  if  they  will  give  shelter  to  300  ill- 
omened  strangers  :  but  I  am  flying  for  my  hfe.  On  the  whole,  I 
am  content,  even  to  go  to  Australia,  even  in  such  company,  rather 
than  await  another  winter  in  these  summer  isles  :  and  am  ab- 
solutely setting  forth  on  my  voyage  with  a  heart  nearly  as  light 
as  my  purse  (which  has  but  thirteen  shillings  in  it).  Grim  death 
is  behind  me,  among  the  black  cedars.  And  even  should  the  ill- 
favoured  demon  of  asthma  give  chase,  I  will  outstrip  him  in  this 
broad-winged  ship — he  shall  have  a  race  for  it  athwart  the  ecUptic, 
through  seventy  degrees  of  latitude,  into  regions  whereon  the 
Great  Bear  never  shone.  And  if  the  Grim  Feature  overtake  me 
there,  I  will  fight  him  while  a  shot  is  in  the  locker. 

Our  voyage  to  the  Cape,  as  they  calculate,  will  hold  us  about 
two  months.  Hurrah  !  as  poor  old  Dan  used  to  say — "  My 
bosom's  lord  sits  lightly  on  his  throne  " — Africa  will  be  sure  to 


JAIL  JOURNAL  141 

)ring  forth  some  new  thing,  according  to  the  ancient  wont  of 
hat  fruitful  mother  of  monsters.* 

Poor  old  Dan  ! — wonderful,  mighty,  jovial,  and  mean  old  man  ! 
vith  silver  tongue  and  smile  of  witchery,  and  heart  of  melting 
uth  ! — l5dng  tongue  !  smile  of  treachery  !  heart  of  imfathomable 
raud  I  What  a  royal,  yet  vulgar  soul !  with  the  keen  eye  and 
)otent  swoop  of  a  generous  eagle  of  Cairn  Tual — with  the  base 
;ervility  of  a  hound,  and  the  cold  cruelty  of  a  spider  !  Think  of 
lis  speech  for  John  Magee,  the  most  powerful  forensic  achieve- 
nent  since  before  Demosthenes — and  then  think  of  the  "  gorge- 
)us  and  gossamer  "  theory  of  moral  and  peaceful  agitation,  the 
nost  astounding  organon  of  public  swindUng  since  first  man 
)ethought  him  of  obtaining  money  under  false  pretences.  And 
ifter  one  has  thought  of  all  this,  and  more,  what  then  can  a 
nan  say  ?  what  but  pray  that  Irish  earth  may  he  light  on  O'Con- 
lell's  breast — and  that  the  good  God  who  knew  how  to  create 
io  wondrous  a  creature  may  have  mercy  upon  his  soul. 

April  2yri. — I  find  myself  provided  with  a  very  filthy  little 
;abin  here,  having  a  window  that  looks  forward  over  the  quarter- 
ieck.  On  the  quarter-deck  the  soldiers,  not  on  duty,  saunter 
ibout,  smoking  and  chatting.  Beyond  the  gangway  forward,  the 
jrisoners  in  their  Bermuda  uniforms,  are  swarming  over  deck, 
"orecastle,  and  bulwarks,  but  are  not  allowed  to  come  aft.  Above 
s  the  poop-deck,  where  I  am  privileged  to  walk — long,  broad, 
md  clean,  affording  ample  scope  for  exercise.  On  this  poop  also 
iaunter  and  smoke  two  officers  of  the  miUtary  guard. 

Dr.  Dees,  as  the  "  surgeon-superintendent  "  is  named,  com- 
nands  in  chief,  and  wears  the  epaulettes  of  a  naval  surgeon.  He 
:ame  this  morning  into  my  cabin,  and  divining  what  he  came  to 
;alk  about,  I  was  minded  to  give  him  a  taste  of  my  quahty,  that 
le  and  I  might  understand  one  another,  and  be  at  our  ease,  for  the 
/oyage.  He  began  by  telling  me  that  arrangements  had  been 
nade  at  Bermuda  by  which  I  was  to  have  the  same  accommoda- 
;ions  as  to  board,  etc.,  that  they  had  in  the  cuddy  ;  and  that  if  I 
A^anted  anything  I  should  let  him,  Dr.  Dees,  know.  I  answered 
:hat  I  was  quite  sure  I  should  want  for  nothing — that  at  any  rate 
[  made  it  a  rule  never  to  ask  for  anything,  and  never  to  complain 

*  "  Vulgare  Graeciae  dictum — Semper  aliquid  novi  Africam  aflferre." — 
?lin,  Nat.  Hist.  VIII.  16. 


142 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


of  anything — but  that  as  to  the  special  arrangements  in  my  be- 
half I  was  quite  at  a  loss  to  know  what  claim  I  had  to  any  better 
accommodations  than  other  prisoners.  "  All  I  know  about  it," 
said  he,  "  is  that  matters  have  been  so  ordered  by  the  Governor  of 
Bermuda — I  regret,"  added  the  doctor,  "  that  you  must  Uve  quite 
solitary  here,  and  have  no  access  to  the  cuddy,  nor  intercourse 
with  the  officers  of  the  guard  ;  not  that  I  myself  would  have  the 
least  objection,  nor,  I  presume,  the  officers  either  j  but  in  fact — 
the  fact  is  " 

"  The  fact  is,"  suppUed  I, "  that  you  and  they  would  be  dragged 
before  Parliament,  like  Captain  Wingrove,  or  perhaps  tried  by 
court-martisd."  "  Exactly  so  :  that  is  just  the  whole  case." 
"  Well,  then,  sir,"  I  said,  "  make  your  mind  very  easy  about  all 
that.  Ever  since  I  have  become  a  prisoner,  and  cannot  choose  my 
company,  I  prefer  my  own  society  to  any  other.  The  worthy 
gentlemen  in  Parliament  are  much  mistaken  if  they  imagine  the 
society  of  any  state-cabin  in  her  Majesty's  navy  would  be  an 
honour  or  a  comfort  to  me  :  and  as  for  the  military  officers  you 
mention,  if  they  do  not  obtrude  themselves  on  me,  be  assured  I 
shall  not  obtrude  myself  on  them." 

Dr.  Dees  was  silent  a  Uttle  while,  and  then  said,  "  The  truth  is, 
that  in  your  case  all  official  persons  who  have  to  do  with  you 
seem  to  be  constantly  well  watched ;  and,  after  the  proceedings  of 
Parhament  and  the  Admiralty  Board  in  respect  of  Captain  Win- 
grove  and  the  officers  of  the  Shearwater,  we  are  all  afraid  of  being 
involved  in  something  unpleasant."  "  It  seems,"  I  answered, 
"  that  in  my  case,  formal  conviction  and  actual  deportation  are 
not  enough  ;  it  needs  the  continued  and  strenuous  exertions  of 
both  branches  of  the  legislature  and  the  Admiralty,  and  the 
Colonial  Office,  to  keep  me  in  my  new  position  of  a  felon,  or  even 
to  force  their  own  officers  to  pretend  for  one  moment  that  they 
regarded  me  as  a  convict  or  a  felon  at  all."  He  laughed,  and  said 
that  was  true  enough,  "  But,  indeed,"  he  added,  "  it  has  been 
rather  a  hard  matter  to  know  what  to  do  with  you  ;  the  Govern- 
ment, I  feel  sure,  have  not  been  disposed  to  treat  you  with 
harshness,  or  to  give  you  the  usage  of  a  common  convict ;  yet,  on 
the  other  hand,  they  have  public  opinion  to  satisfy.  On  the 
whole,  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  puzzle  about  it  altogether." 

"  No  wonder,"  I  said  ;  "  there  is  alwa)^  puzzle  and  embarrass- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  143 

ment  in  caxrjdng  through  any  dishonest  transaction.  If  I  were 
indeed  a  felon,  you  know,  there  ought  to  be  no  puzzle  at  all ;  and 
what,  pray,  do  you  mean  by  '  harshness,'  and  by  not  wishing 
to  treat  me  as  a  convict.  Absolutely,  I  am  either  a  felon  or  not  a 
felon."  To  this  formula  of  mine  the  doctor  assented.  "  And,"  I 
continued,  "  if  I  am  not  a  felon,  then  those  who  sent  me  here  axe 
felons."  To  this  he  apparently  thought  it  prudent  neither  to 
assent  nor  demur  ;  and  I  did  not  press  him.  "  Public  servants," 
quoth  the  doctor,  making  a  general  remark,  "  are  sometimes  un- 
safe, even  in  acting  precisely  according  to  their  instructions  ;  for 
they  are  not  permitted  to  reveal  those  instructions,  if  the  matter 
should  become  a  subject  of  public  censure,  but  must  allow  the 
blame  and  consequences  to  fall  on  themselves  rather  than  on  the 
Government."  "  I  am  well  aware  of  that  practice,"  I  answered  ; 
"it  is  one  of  the  privileges  of  a  superior  officer  in  the  British 
service  to  invent  and  pubUsh  any  story  he  pleases,  to  screen  him- 
self and  Government,  at  the  expense  of  a  subordinate  ;  and  one 
of  the  duties  of  inferior  officers  to  support  him  in  his  story,  though 
to  their  own  ruin.  Captain  Wingrove  can  tell  something  of  that 
practice,  and  so  could  Captain  ElUott,  from  his  experience  in 
China.  Perhaps  you  do  not  know  that  he  acted  in  China  accord- 
ing to  his  plain  instructions,  and  when  the  transaction  was  sup- 
posed to  have  turned  out  unfortunate,  and  ParHament  and  the 
press  were  raving,  he  durst  never  plead  those  orders,  but  had  to 
let  Ministers  make  up  what  story  they  hked.  Indeed,  I  have  no 
doubt  that  Government,  after  directing  Captain  Wingrove  to  do 
just  what  he  did,  would  now  stand  coolly  by,  and  see  him  con- 
victed by  a  court-martial,  of  conduct  unbecoming  an  officer  and 
a  gentleman ;  so  you  cannot  be  too  cautious.  Doctor."  The 
Doctor  seemed  to  be  growing  a  httle  uneasy  at  the  tone  of  my 
remarks ;  yet  his  poHteness,  I  saw,  was  restraining  him  from 
stopping  me,  as  he  had  clearly  authority  to  do  ;  so  I  changed 
the  subject.  He  is  a  mild,  well-bred,  and  amiable  man ;  I 
beUeve  I  shall  hke  him — for  a  gaoler. 

All  this  day  there  has  been  a  perfect  calm  ;  and  the  Ught-house 
of  Bermuda  is  still  in  sight.  One  of  the  prisoners  has  been 
assigned  me,  as  usual,  to  attend  me  as  a  servant ;  and  with  his 
help  I  have  been  arranging  matters  in  my  httle  cabin*  I  shall 
feel  quite  at  home  for  two  months. 


-•*«Tsr^.-^v*f^,  *7>'j'j^v^'ifj^"7vni^vqp^fq(gQn^ 


fTT? 


CHAPTER   IX 

April  24,  1849. — i4^  sea — ^We  spoke  to-day  the  brig  Palos,  of 
Boston,  homeward  bound  from  Buenos  Ayres.  Her  captain,  a 
broad-hatted,  lean-faced  Yankee,  cast  an  indifferent  glance  over 
our  swarming  deck,  as  he  asked  what  port  we  were  bound  for. 
He  seemed  to  understand  the  nature  of  our  cargo  right  well. 
Britain's  convict-ships  are  well  known  in  all  seas. 

20th. — We  have  a  fine  breeze  from  the  east  to-day,  and  are 
nmning  southward  at  a  rapid  rate. 

The  Doctor  has  sent  into  my  cabin  a  Daily  News,  which  came 
by  the  mail  on  Sunday.  NoWj  why  could  not  Mr.  Duffy  have 
made  ballads  in  some  quiet  place  all  his  days  ?  As  if  purposely 
to  relieve  the  enemy  from  all  embarrassment  in  their  "  vindication 
of  the  law,"  he  has  allowed  a  petition  to  Government  to  be  got  up, 
very  extensively  signed,  praying,  that  as  he  is  totally  ruined  ;  as 
he  has  already  been  long  confined  ;  as  he  is  an  admirable  private 
character ;  as  his  health  is  delicate  ;  as  the  violent  and  revolu- 
tionary articles  in  his  newspaper  appeared  during  a  period  of  great 
excitement,  and  extended  over  but  a  few  weeks,  the  enemy  would, 
of  their  mercy,  forbear  to  prosecute  him  farther — the  very  thing 
they  wished  to  have  any  decent  excuse  for.  I  say,  he  has  allowed 
this  petition — because  no  petitioners  could  make  such  implied 
promises  of  amendment  without  his  sanction  ;  and  especially 
because  he  has  not  disowned  the  mean  proceeding.  It  is  quite  in 
keeping  with  his  miserable  defence  upon  his  last  trial,  his  produc- 
tion of  evidence  to  character,  and  his  attempt  to  evade  the 
responsibiUty  of  articles  published  by  himself.  Sir  Lucius  O'Brien, 
too,  who  presents  this  memorial  to  Lord  Clarendon,  takes  occasion 
to  admit  the  "  guilt  "  of  the  culprit.  With  what  joy  the  enemy 
must  gloat  upon  this  transaction,  and  exult  over  us  and  our 
abandoned  cause  !  The  Daily  News  seems  very  glad,  as  any 
British  newspaper  may  well  be,  at  the  appearance  of  this  decent 
excuse  ;  says,  that  for  its  part,  it  rather  thinks  a  gentleman,  of 
so  very  good  a  private  character,  may  be  now  set  at  liberty  with 

144 


The  Arrest  of  Smith  O'Brien  at  Thurles  Railway  Station 


JAIL  JOURNAL  145 

perfect  safety  to  the  public.  Shabby  and  paltry,  indeed !  A 
curse  upon  his  private  character  !  Yet  one  cannot  be  angry  with 
Duffy,  who  need  not  have  been  expected  to  get  himself  hulked 
for  any  principle,  object,  or  cause,  whatsoever.  Duffy  never 
could  sustain  life  without  puffery  ;  the  breath  of  his  nostrils  was 
puff ;  and  these  teak  timbers  are  no  flatterers.  When  a  man 
comes  to  this,  he  touches  ground — all  rose-coloured  puff-clouds 
vanish  from  beneath  him,  and  drift  down  the  wind.  Let  no  man 
live  exclusively  on  that  deleterious,  flatulent  pabulum — filling  his 
belly  with  too  much  east  wind.  Do  we  not  know  that  Widenostrils 
the  swallower  of  windmills — ^whom  Pantagruel  saw  in  the  do- 
minions of  Queen  Entelechie — when  he  could  no  longer  get  his 
customary  diet,  but  had  to  chew  hard  kettles  and  frying-pans,  fell 
away  in  his  flesh,  and  at  last  died  in  the  very  hands  of  his 
physicians.  How  would  Widenostrils  have  thriven,  think  you, 
upon  a  dietary  of  iron  bars  and  leg-bolts  ?  Verily,  in  this 
Bermuda,  nobody  seems  to  be  sensible  of  the  merits  and  fame 
of  those  fine  young  literary  men,  who,  from  their  little  coterie, 
breathed  a  new  soul  into  Ireland. 

You  cannot  get  out  of  any  man  what  is  not  in  him  ;  but  yet 
this  miserable  grovelling  of  Duffy's  is  a  bitter  disappointment 
to  me.  He  had  a  grander  opportunity  than  any  one  amongst 
us  ;  and  now  he  will  let  the  "  Government  "  march  off  the  field 
with  some  semblance  of  having  still  a  rag  of  law  and  constitution 
to  cover  them,  when  he  might  have  torn  off  every  shred,  and 
shown  them  as  they  are — an  armed  garrison,  ruling  a  hostile 
country  at  the  bayonet's  point. 

Even  if  "  Government "  should  refuse  compUance  with  this 
memorial,  and  bring  him  to  trial  again,  what  juror  will  have  the 
heart  to  stand  up  for  a  prisoner  who  has  retreated  from  his  posi- 
tion ?  Or  of  what  value  will  be  his  standing  up  ?  The  thing  is 
bad  every  way  ;  but  the  end  is  not  yet. 

I  suppose  Mr.  Duffy  and  his  advisers,  by  this  promise  of  absti- 
nence from  politics,  mean  to  intimate  that  Ireland's  cause  is 
desperate,  or  is  not  worth  struggling  for  ;  mean,  so  far  as  they  are 
concerned,  to  give  up  the  country,  and  let  the  English  "  make  a 
kirk  or  a  mill  of  it."  And  this  at  a  time  when  all  colour  of  law 
is  taken  away  or  perverted  to  the  ruin  of  honest  men ;  when  four- 
fifths  of  the  inhabitants  are  avowedly  debarred  from  exercising 
10 


X46 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


the  common  functions  of  citizens,  one-fifth  of  them  perishing 
miserably  of  hunger,  and  the  island  occupied  by  troops  as  a 
hostile  territory.  And  so  the  proprietor  of  the  Nation,  for  his 
part,  begs  pardon — meant  no  harm  by  all  those  loud  words  of 
his,  but  was  as  constitutional  as  a  Quaker  all  the  time,  and  will 
never  do  the  like  again.  So  precisely  the  matter  stands,  unless 
this  Daily  News  grossly  mis-describes  the  "  memorial." 

A  plague  of  all  cowards  !  The  cause  is  not  desperate  ;  and  it 
is  both  base  and  impudent  to  say,  to  mean,  to  think,  or  to  hint 
that  it  is. 

The  Ballingarry  failure  is  hardly,  I  suppose,  to  be  treated  as  a 
criterion.  A  gentleman — a  very  estimable  and  worthy  gentleman, 
certainly- — goes  with  three  or  four  attendants  (who  are  wholly  un- 
known to  the  people  they  go  amongst)  into  the  coimties  of  Kil- 
kenny and  Tipperary,  and  there  tells  several  persons  they  are  to 
rise  in  insurrection  imder  his  guidance  and  free  the  country.  He 
has  no  money,  this  gentleman,  to  pay  troops  :  no  clothing  nor 
arms  to  give  them,  no  food  to  keep  them  aUve.  He  just  exhibits 
a  pike,  and  bids  them  follow  him  and  free  the  country.  Well, 
the  people  are  desirous  enough  to  free  the  country  ;  let  them  be 
but  /!a//-armed,  half-clothed,  and  one-quarter  fed,  and  they  will 
show  what  mind  they  are  of.  But  this  abrupt  proposal  of  the 
worthy  gentleman  takes  them  by  surprise.  Very  few  of  them 
have  any  arms  at  all.  For  fifty  years  it  has  been  the  constant 
policy  of  the  hostile  Government  to  disarm  them,  and  twenty 
Arms  Bills  have  been  enacted  since  the  Union,  with  that  special 
purpose.  Very  politic  policy  it  was  ;  for  the  enemy  knew  that 
if  once  these  people  became  familiar  with  arms,  they  would  be 
sui:e  to  put  them  to  the  only  righteous  and  Christian  use.  All 
kinds  of  weapons,  therefore,  for  half  a  century  back,  have  been 
associated,  in  the  minds  of  Catholic  Irishmen,  with  crime,  gaols, 
informers,  petty  sessions,  hand-cuffs,  and  policemen.  And,  as  if 
that  were  not  enough,  all  the  influence  of  the  constitutional 
agitators,  and,  in  a  great  measure,  of  the  priests  also,  has  been 
exerted  to  make  the  use  of  arms  appear  a  sin  against  God.  They 
have  not  been  taught  that  it  is  the  prerogative  of  man  to  bear 
arms — that  beasts  alone  go  without  them  ;  that  Arms  Bills  are 
passed  by  the  British  Parliament  on  the  same  principle  on  which 
other  i:obber3  cjisapn  thos^  whom  they  mean  to  plunder.    No  j 


JAIL  JOURNAL  M7 

they  have  been  taught  such  drivelling  maxims  as,  "  Let  others 
die  for  their  country,  we  prefer  to  live  for  her  "  ;  "  One  living 
patriot  is  worth  a  churchyard  full  of  dead  ones."  Now,  this  is 
not  the  sort  of  people,  so  debased,  so  benighted,  and  reduced,  to 
a  beastly  helplessness,  that  you  can  expect  to  rise  en  masse  on  a 
call  to  arms,  be  their  slavery  as  intolerable,  their  wrath  as  deadly, 
as  you  will.  Before  there  can  be  any  general  arming,  or  aptitude 
to  insurrection,  there  must  first  be  sound  manly  doctrine  preached 
and  embraced.  And  next,  there  must  be  many  desultory  col- 
lisions with  British  troops,  both  in  town  and  coimtry,  and  the 
sight  of  clear  steel,  and  of  blood  smoking  hot,  must  become 
famiUar  to  the  eyes  of  men,  of  boys,  and  of  women. 

The  American  Revolution  was  begun  by  riots — "  paltry  riots," 
on  the  streets  of  Boston.  The  last  grand  Lombard  insurrection 
was  prepared  and  ripened  by  months  and  years  of  exasperating 
collisions  in  theatres  and  at  the  comers  of  streets,  until  society 
became  one  angry  ulcer  ;  and  such  wiU  for  ever  be  the  history  of 
resistance  where  the  oppressed  people  are  individually  high- 
spirited,  and  not  emasculated  by  vicious  teaching. 

It  is  nothing  but  a  pitiful  excuse  for  desertion  of  the  cause  to 
cry  out  now,  "  These  people  do  not  wish  for  freedom,  are  not 
worthy  of  freedom  ;  they  would  not  rise  at  BaUingarry."  I 
affirm  that  my  countrymen  are  not  cowards,  and  do  not  love 
their  chains ;  and  I  do  hope,  captive  and  exile  as  I  am,  to  see 
some  day  an  opportunity  given  them  to  prove  the  same. 

It  is  too  clear,  however,  that  for  the  present,  one  excuse  or 
another — the  Ballingariy  failure,  the  "  vigour  "  of  Government, 
ill-health,  etc.,  will  serve  the  weak  and  irresolute  as  good  reasons 
for  falling  back  on  peaceful  O'Connellism,  or  else ! — "  withdrawing 
fiom  politics  " — what  a  beggarly  phrase  and  idea ! — and  so 
staying  peacably  in  Ireland,  becoming  respectable  members  of 
society,  and  peeping  about  to  find  themselves  dishonourable 
graves. 

But  the  history  of  Ireland  is  not  over  yet. 

I  see,  further,  by  these  latest  papers,  that  the  French  Republi- 
can army  is  actually  battering  the  walls  of  Republican  Rome,  to 
compel  the  Romans  to  drive  away  their  own  chosen  Triumviri 
(of  whom  that  good  and  noble  Italian,  Mazzini,  is  the  chief),  and 
to  reinstate  the  "  mgnstrous  regiment "  of  priests.   There  is  some 


148  JAIL  JOURNAL 

vile  mistake  here  ;  or  rather  this  Bonaparte,  with  his  Odillon 
Barrots,  and  other  poHtic  monarchists  about  him,  is  a  traitor  to 
Republicanism  and  to  France.  There  is  a  strong  party  opposed 
to  him  and  his  Government,  who  are  all,  without  distinction, 
branded  as  "  Socialists,"  by  the  English  Pi  ess.  But  I  begin  to 
imagine  that  the  sincere  and  thorough-going  Republicans  are 
classed  with  this  very  party ;  for  it  is  impossible  that  hteral 
Fourier-Owenism  should  be  the  creed  of  any  large  body  of  men. 
Heaven  knows  the  social  problem  in  Modem  Europe  has  come  to 
be  a  hard  one  ;  but  Fourier-Owenism  is  not  the  solution. 

Would  I  could  see  some  French  papers  :  I  am  in  the  dark. 

One  thing  is  easy  to  see — that  a  stupid  cant  has  arisen  about 
"  Order," — as  if  order  were  the  chief  end  of  man  and  of  society. 
Of  course  the  moneyed  people  do  their  best  to  spread  this  cant. 
Yet  what  a  senseless  cant.  Order,  quotha ! — there  is  more  order 
in  the  hulks  at  Bermuda  than  in  the  Champs  Elysees. 

Hungary  keeps  Austria  gallantly  at  bay.  The  Kaiser  has 
called  upon  the  Czar  for  aid  ;  which  he  will  be  too  ready  to  give. 
Kossuth  is  a  great  genius  and  hero. 

But  in  India,  the  enemy  have  obtained  a  signal  victory  over 
the  Seiks,  and  have  taken  and  robbed  Moultan,  one  of  the 
cities  that  Bumes  sei  for  them.  Moultan  was  very  gallantly 
defended. 

2Sth. — We  are  running  near  Barbadoes,  and,  as  I  hear,  must 
tack  northward  again.  The  weather  is  lovely,  and  not  oppres- 
sively hot.  I  am  in  high  health,  and  walk  and  loimge  on  the  poop 
lazily,  and  with  right  vacant  mind,  by  night  and  day.  Not  being 
a  "  Member  of  Society,"  and  not  having  the  entrie  of  the  cuddy,  I 
keep  my  own  hours,  dress  as  I  Uke,  and  hold  no  communication 
save  with  the  Doctor,  and  with  a  species  of  parson  or  "  Instruc- 
tor," such  as  they  always  send  in  convict-ships.  The  skipper  is 
an  old,  red-whiskered  Scotchman,  and  the  cuddy-circle  is  com- 
posed of  the  said  skipper,  the  doctor,  two  tarry  individuals  called 
mates,  the  first  and  the  second  mate,  two  officers  of  the  91st 
regiment,  and  the  parson  or  instructor.  The  skipper  and  the  two 
mates,  tarry  but  worthy  persons,  occasionally  enter  into  conversa- 
tion with  me  when  I  am  in  the  humour  to  allow  them  ;  but  the 
caution  of  the  two  gallant  officers  in  that  respect  amuses  me  : 
these  gentlemen  seem  resolved  that  they  shall  pot  be  tried  by 


JAIL  JOURNAL  149 

court-martial  for  undue  attention  to  me — and  so  they  give  me  a 
wide  berth  on  the  poop,  walking  always  on  the  side  opposite  to 
me.  At  first  they  seemed  to  labour  under  the  apprehension  that 
I  would  try  to  force  m5^elf  on  their  society,  and  looked  sidelong 
at  me  as  a  modest  maid  might  look  at  some  horrid  man  that  she 
thinks  is  meditating  her  ravishment.  They  need  not  be  at  all 
afraid — I  will  not  violate  their  British  honour. 

The  instructor,  whose  name  is  Stewart,  a  Glaswegian,  has  very 
obligingly  placed  his  books  at  my  disposal  during  my  voyage. 
He  reads  service  to  a  small  number  of  Protestants  who  are 
amongst  the  convicts — sets  them  to  learn  reading,  and  tries  to 
make  some  impression  on  them  in  the  way  of  reformation.  When 
he  speaks  to  me,  however,  he  never  mentions  religion,  which 
shows  his  discrimination. 

Thus  I  take  reconnaissance  of  those  who  are  to  be  my  ship- 
mates for  two  months. 

July  12th — Twelfth  of  July. — I  trust  the  maniacs  in  the  North 
of  Ireland  are  not  cutting  one  another's  throats  to-day.*  Yet,  if 
they  are,  there  is  one  comfort  in  it — those  whose  throats  are  cut 
will  not  be  starved  to  death. 

We  are  nearly  three  months  at  sea  :  never  once  in  sight  of  land  ; 
and  have  not  yet  gone  half  way  to  the  Cape.  Such  stupid  naviga- 
tion, I  believe,  has  not  been  heard  of,  at  least  since  the  invention 
of  the  mariner's  compass.  Three  times  we  have  crossed  the  line 
— passed  three  times  slowly  and  tediously  through  that  belt  of 
the  ocean  called  the  "  region  of  calms."  The  captain  has  long 
since  given  up  all  hopes  of  reaching  the  Cape  without  touching 
somewhere  in  Brazil  for  provisions  and  water  ;  and  we  are  now 
shaping  our  course  for  Pemambuco.  The  crew  and  prisoners  are 
on  half-rations  and  half-allowance  of  water  :  the  water  has  grown 
very  bad,  black,  hot,  and  populous  with  living  creatures.  Sick- 
ness has  begun  to  prevail  both  among  prisoners  and  soldiers  : 
and  we  have  already  pitched  overboard  seven  corpses  to  the 
sharks.  Many  were  frightfully  ill  in  scurvy  :  fever  is  strongly  ap- 
prehended ;  and  as  this  delay  has  occurred  in  the  hottest  region  of 


*  For  the  elucidation  of  this  passage  to  American  readers,  I  should 
mention  that  the  12th  of  July  is  the  principal  anniversary  consecrated  by 
the  Northern  Orangemen,  to  celebrate  the  Victories  of  the  Dutch  King  of 
England  over  their  own  countrymen. 


150 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


the  globe  (we  aie  eight  weeks  on  the  very  line,  or  within  three 
degrees  of  it) ,  the  only  matter  of  surprise  is  that  so  few  have  died 
yet.  A  few  days  ago,  the  Doctor  issued  orders  to  give  each  person 
only  quarter-allowance  of  water — ^namely,  a  pint  and  a  half  in  the 
day,  to  serve  for  cooking,  for  tea,  and  for  drinking  ;  but  that  very 
evening  down  came  a  tremendous  tropical  torrent  of  rain — and  by 
properly  arranging  the  awning,  and  fitting  it  with  a  canvas  tube, 
ten  tons  of  cool  clear  water  were  caught,  and  conducted  into 
barrels  in  the  hold,  all  within  six  hours.  The  thermometer  has 
been  for  weeks  at  about  84  of  Fahrenheit,  and  this  glorious 
shower  was  high  luxury  to  every  one  on  board.  When  it  grew 
dark  I  went  out  to  the  gangway,  stark-naked,  and  stood  there 
awhile,  luxuriating  in  the  plenteous  shower-bath. 

This  gracious  shower  gives  us  a  prospect  of  reaching  Pemam- 
buco  on  half  instead  of  quarter-allowance  of  water. 

For  me,  I  positively  enjoy  everj^hing — heat  and  coolness,  wet 
and  dry,  whole  rations,  half-rations,  and  quarter-rations :  and 
after  basking  in  the  sun  like  a  tortoise  all  day,  I  smoke  and  drink 
considerably  at  night.  Not  that  the  sun — if  one  is  to  speak  by 
the  card- — really  shines  much  in  these  equinoctial  regions,  but  the 
warm  air  is  quite  luxurious  enough  to  bask  in. 

July  i^th. — Your  shark  is  but  a  puny  fish  :  eight  or  nine  of 
them  have  been  dragged  on  board  here  since  we  came  within  the 
tropics,  and  scores  have  been  swimming  around  us  that  would  not 
take  the  bait — not  one  of  them  above  five  feet  long,  with  an 
opening  to  serve  for  mouth  hardly  wide  enough  to  admit  a  good 
cocoa-nut,  and  innumerable  small,  flat,  cartilaginous,  triangular 
teeth,  so  thin  and  weak  that  a  good  kick  from  a  strong  boot 
would  be  sure  to  drive  sixty  or  seventy  of  them  down  their 
throats.  Their  flesh  looks  rank  and  coarse,  and  has  an  evil 
smell,  even  fresh  killed,  but  a  few  of  the  sailors  and  prisoners 
eat  it. 

This  weary  "  region  of  calms  "  has  a  strange  and  mysterious 
aspect,  with  a  Stygian  twilight  hanging  over  it,  and  an  infinite 
silence,  as  of  the  realms  of  Dis.  The  air  is  damp,  warm,  dark, 
almost  palpable.  Save  one  black  squall,  or  at  most  two,  in  the 
day,  there  is  not  a  breath  of  wind  ;  but  the  sky  is  an  uniform 
gray,  and  there  is  a  heavy  swell  in  the  dark,  glutinous-looking 
Waters.    We  ate  altogether  out  of  the  track  of  ships,  too,  and 


JAIL  JOUMAL  151 

have  been  many  weeks  rolling  upon  this  sunless  sea  in  ghostly 
soHtude.    I  repeat  often  to  myself  : 

"  The  very  deep  did  rot— -O  Christ  1 
That  ever  this  should  be — 
And  slimy  things  did  crawl,  with  legs, 
Upon  the  slimy  sea." 

If  a  squall  comes  upon  us  at  night,  and  sends  us  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  fijdng  through  the  water  under  reefed  topsails, 
we  leave  a  wake  of  pale  fire  shooting  far  astern  into  outer 
darkness,  and  the  foam  from  the  ship's  bow  rushes  blazing  past 
like  Pyriphlegethon  in  sparte. 

A  heavy  shower  is  always  a  blessing  to  us,  and  I  never  knew  so 
well  before  the  exquisite  luxury  of  a  draught  of  cool,  fresh  water — 
not  even  after  half  a  day's  ranging  over  dry  mountain-tops,  when 
I  came  upon  a  green  hollow,  with  its  clear  stream,  or  a  well  under 
the  shade  of  some  rock,  hiding  its  diamond  treasure  from  the 
thirsty  sun.    Sometimes  I  sit  here  for  hours,  watching  the  course 
of  a  black  rain-cloud  on  the  leaden-coloured  horizon,  as  it  sails 
heavily  on  with  freight  of  gracious  waters,  and  makes  the  "  wine- 
dark  sea  "  pitch-black  beneath — hoping  that  the  lazy  veering 
tropic  breezes  may  bear  it  hitherward.    I  keep  my  fierce  thirst 
to  be  quenched  out  of  its  dusky  bosom,  patiently  eschewing  the 
black  ship-liquid  and  lime-juice,  and  lustfully  eyeing  the  wealth 
of  sweet  water  that,  "  kerchiefed  in  a  comely  cloud,"  comes  this 
way  sailing  Uke  a  stately  ship  of  Tarshish,  bound  for  the  isles  of 
Javan  or  Gadire,  with  all  her  bravery  on.     I  have  visions  of 
crystal  brooks,  and  my  ear  and  brain  are  filled  with  the  murmur- 
ing of  the  Roe  and  Bann.    I  cherish  and  enjoy  my  raging  thirst 
(hoping  speedily  to  drown  the  fiery  fiend  in  such  a  rushing  flood), 
and  ingeniously  torment  it  by  thinking  all  thirsty  thoughts — of 
gorged  wolves  lapping,  with  dry  tongues,  the  fountain  of  black 
water — of  caravans  faring  through  calcined  Syrian  deserts — of 
the  mariner  who  had  to  bite  his  arm  and  suck  the  blood  before 
he  could  sing  out,  "  A  sail !  a  sail !  "    But  lo  !  now,  three  leagues 
off,  or  more,  before  my  envious  eyes,  the  disdainful  rain-cloud 
stoops  at  last  to  the  ocean,  and  lavishes  her  priceless  treasure,  to 
the  last  bright  drop,  on  the  ungrateful,  unfruitful  brine — "  the 
wilderness  wherein  there  is  no  man."    And  what  art  thou,  O  Man 
that  the  bottles  of  heaven  should  decant  themselves  to  thee  ? 


i52 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


Canst  thou  lift  up  thy  voice  to  the  clouds,  that  abundance  of 
waters  may  cover  thee  ?  Hath  the  rain  a  father  ?  Or  who  hath 
begotten  the  drops  of  the  dew  ?  Not  I.  So  I  must  quench  my 
enemy  with  the  ship-Uquid,  qualified  with  a  Uttle  lime-juice  and 
sugar,  and,  for  that  matter,  a  glass  of  brandy. 

July  i^ih. — We  begin  this  day  to  feel  the  first  breath  of  the 
south-east  trade-wind  ;  and  being  now  as  far  east  as  25°  W.  L., 
the  captain  hopes  to  be  able  on  this  wind  to  make  Pemambuco 
in  a  few  days,  without  being  swept  by  the  current  to  leeward  of 
Cape  St,  Roque  once  more,  in  which  latter  case  we  should  certainly 
fare  very  ill.  I  can  perceive  that  the  strong  probability  of  making 
the  port  this  time  is  a  great  reUef  to  the  surgeon-superintendent, 
who  has  been  extremely. anxious  for  some  days  past.  And  well  he 
may  ;  if  provisions  and  water  should  altogether  run  out,  and  the 
ship  still  far  at  sea,  or  becalmed  off  an  unknown  coast,  with  four 
hundred  men  on  board,  and  three  himdred  of  them  desperate 
reprobates — discipline  would  soon  vanish,  and  the  question 
would  be,  which  of  the  well-fed  cabin-people  should  be  first, 
which  last  devoured.  The  parson  is  rather  fat,  and  some  days 
ago  he  imparted  his  anxieties  to  me  with  white  lips — "  We  shall 
have  mutiny  here,"  said  he.  "We  shall  have  murder,  and 
cannibalism,  and  everything  horrible."  I  told  him  cannibalism 
was  beginning  to  be  rather  common — that  in  Ireland  people 
had  been  eating  each  other  for  some  time,  though  lean — and  I 
eyed  his  well-filled  waistcoat.  He  shuddered  visibly  :  said  he 
trusted  it  would  all  end  well. 

July  15th. — We  are,  beyond  all  doubt,  fairly  in  the  trade-wind, 
and  Hearing  the  coast  of  South  America  at  the  rate  of  150  miles 
a  day.  Poor  Dr.  Dees,  who  has  been  suffering  both  from  ill-health 
and  anxiety,  begins  to  look  more  cheerful :  the  chaplain  eats  his 
dinner  with  a  better  appetite — feels  he  is  fattening  for  his  own 
behoof :  the  gallant  officers  even^  though  always  exhibiting  a 
gentlemanly  sang  froid,  smoke,  methinks,  somewhat  more 
placidly.  The  "  belt  of  calms  "  is  now  behind  us,  and  a  brisk, 
dry,  south-easterly  breeze  ripples  the  blue  water  :  the  sun  once 
more  goes  blazing  over  the  zenith  in  his  daily  course,  and 
plunges  into  the  sea  at  evening  in  glory  unimaginable.  We 
have  passed  clear  out  of  the  Acherontean  pools,  and  revisit  the 
blessed  sunshine. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  153 

July  18th — Land  !—  A  far-stretching,  low-lying  coast,  within 
two  miles  a  head,  thickly  mantled  with  majestic  woods  down  to 
the  water's  edge — tall  cocoa-nut  palms,  standing  ranked  on 
very  sea-sands — a  stately,  white-walled,  high-towered  city,  ex- 
tending full  two  miles  along  the  shore,  built  down  to  high-water 
mark,  and  seeming  hardly  able  to  make  good  its  footing  on  the 
edge  of  that  imconquerable  forest.  On  both  sides  of  it,  the 
vigorous  vegetable  Ufe  seems  to  mingle  with  houses  and  convents, 
and  push  itself  into  the  streets  ;  and  as  the  land  gently  rises 
beyond,  I  can  see  it  deeply  covered  for  leagues,  even  to  the  tops 
of  distant  lulls,  with  the  umbrage  of  imtamed  woods.  But  an 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  human  beings  lead  their  lives  in 
this  city  between  forest  and  ocean  ;  there  are  many  great  churches 
and  monasteries  of  imposing  Lusitanian  Jirchitecture — great  stores 
and  quays,  and  in  the  harbour  ships  of  all  nations.  It  seems  these 
forests  are  tracked  by  certain  mule-paths,  leading  to  pasture- 
prairies,  £ind  plantations  of  sugar,  coffee,  and  tobacco,  far  inland, 
of  which  Pemambuco  is  the  port  of  export.  On  the  ships  riding 
at  anchor,  besides  the  Brazilian  green  and  yellow  ensign,  I  see 
the  North  American,  the  French,  the  Enghsh,  the  Dutch,  the 
Peruvian,  and,  on  one  vessel  anchored  about  a  mile  from  us,  the 
yellow  banner  of  fever. 

Here  we  expect  to  secure  a  supply  of  fresh  beef  (of  wild  oxen 
captured  by  the  lasso),  and  some  water,  and  yams,  hmes,  and 
oranges,  to  rout  the  scurvy.     We  are  in  deadly  need  of  them. 

20th. — Boats  have  come  off  to-day  bringing  store  of  oranges, 
limes,  vegetables,  and  fresh-baked  bread.  The  oranges  are  very 
large  and  delicious,  some  with  a  brown  rind  hke  russet-apples, 
and  others  emerald-green.  I  became  proprietor  of  thirty  for  six- 
pence, and  shall  never,  never  wish  to  forget  the  brutal  rapture 
with  which  I  devoured  six  of  them  on  the  spot.  Several  of  those 
who  had  charge  of  these  boats  and  merchandise  were  slaves,  per- 
haps African  bom  (for  these  Brazilian  ports,  together  with 
Havana,  are  great  marts  of  African  men).  I  surveyed  them  long 
and  earnestly,  for  before  this  day  I  never  saw  a  slave  in  his 
slavery — I  mean  a  merchantable  slave,  a  slave  of  real  money- 
value,  whom  a  prudent  man  will,  in  the  way  of  business,  pay  for 
and  feed  afterwards.  The  poor  slaves  I  have  been  accustomed 
to  see  are  not  only  of  no  value,  but  their  owners  will  go  to  heavy 


154  /^^^  JOURNAL 

expense  to  get  rid  of  them — not  imported  slaves,  but  surplus 
slaves  for  export — slaves  with  a  Glorious  Constitution,  slaves 
with  a  Palladium — a  Habeas  Corpus  to  be  suspended,  and  a  trial 
by  jury  whereby  they  may  have  the  comfort  of  being  routed  out 
of  house  and  home,  transported,  and  hanged  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  "  upper  classes.'"   These  slaves  in  Brazil  are  fat  and  merry, 
obviously  not  overworked  nor  underfed,  and  it  is  a  pleasure  to 
see  the  lazy  rogues  lolling  in  their  boats,  sucking  a  piece  of  green 
sugar-cane,  and  grinning  and  jabbering  together,  not  knowing 
that  there  is  such  an  atrocity  as  a  Palladium  in  the  whole  world. 
Besides,  the  condition  of  slaves  in  any  Spanish,  Portuguese,  or 
French  colony,  is  not  by  any  means  so  abject  as  it  was  under  the 
EngUsh  and  is  under  the  Americans.    To  the  exercise  of  power 
this  Anglo-Saxon  race  always  adds  insolence.    Slaves  in  Brazil  are 
expected  to  work  moderately,  but  are  not  treated  with  contumely. 
They  are  often  admitted  to  the  society  of  the  families  they  serve, 
and  lead  in  some  measure  the  hfe  of  human  beings.    Is  it  better, 
then,  to  be  the  slave  of  a  merciful  master  and  a  just  man,  or  to 
be  serf  to  an  Irish  land-appropriator  ?     God  knoweth. 

I  do  not  pretend  that  I  altogether  like  the  sight  of  these  slaves. 
If  I  were  a  rich  man  I  would  prefer  to  have  my  wealth  in  any 
other  kind  of  commodity  or  investment — except,  of  course,  the 
credit  funds. 

July  2^th. — We  have  been  a  week  lying  off  Pemambuco,  revel- 
Ung  on  yams  and  fruit.  The  yam  is  a  most  admirable  vegetable, 
hardly  distinguishable  in  taste,  colour  or  texture,  from  a  good 
potato — far  better  than  the  average  of  potatoes,  especially  in 
these  latter  years.  But,  though  native  to  this  fat  South  American 
soil,  yams  are  exorbitantly  dear,  £20  per  ton,  which,  indeed, 
seems  incredible.  And,  while  oranges  are  five  for  a  penny,  new 
milk  in  this  land  of  cattle  is  sixpence  per  pint.  I  cannot  examine 
or  explain  these  "  facts  "  in  political  economy,  inasmuch  as  I  am 
not  permitted  to  go  ashore  ;  and,  even  if  I  were  permitted,  per- 
haps I  would  not  ask  a  single  question  about  them.  Indeed,  on 
looking  over  all  my  memorandum-book,  purporting  to  be  a 
journal,  I  find  there  are  shamefully  few  "  facts  "  in  it.  I  have 
made  no  "  additions  to  science."  Useful  knowledge  will  be  no 
whit  the  better  for  me.  I  remember  that  the  indefatigable  Hum- 
boldt, while  he  wandered  in  these  same  South  American  woods. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  155 

observed  amongst  many  other  things,  certain  monkeys  which 
always  howled  in  the  trees  at  sumise ;  it  was  in  the  llanos  of 
Caraccas.  And  that  great  man,  by  multiplied  observations, 
ascertained  that  the  distance  at  which  their  howling  could  be  heard 
was,  as  near  as  possible,  "  1,705  yards."  The  preciseness  and 
importance  of  this  "  fact "  has  made  it  dwell  distinctly  on  my 
memory,  though  I  have  forgotten  many  minor  things.  Now  to 
arrive  at  so  satisfactory  a  result  the  philosopher  must  have  made 
repeated  observations  and  careful  measurement — some  mornings 
to  windward  of  the  monkeys,  and  again  to  leeward,  and  then 
calculated  the  mean.  Cannot  I  also  try  to  observe  some  pheno- 
menon or  other,  marine  or  meteorological,  and  enrich  science  ? 
Was  it  not  the  same  Baron  von  Humboldt  who  had  his  "  cyano- 
meter,"  a  delicate  instrument  for  measuring  the  intensity  of  blue 
in  the  sky  ?  It  was  an  invention  of  that  great  man's  own,  and 
he  set  much  store  by  it.  I  do  fear  it  is  but  imphilosophical  to 
keep  gazing  up  into  this  blue  empyrean  by  day  and  night,  like 
a  beast,  without  having  its  intensity  marked  for  me  on  a 
graduated  scale. 

July  26th. — Dr.  Dees  has  just  brought  off  to  the  ship  English 
papers,  up  to  12th  June  ;  and,  after  a  useless  appeal  to  the  English 
House  of  Lords,  and  judgment  against  them.  Smith  O'Brien, 
Meagher,  O'Donoghue,  and  MacManus  are  to  be  sent  off  instantly 
to  Van  Diemen's  Land  ;  Martin  and  O'Doherty  are  to  go,  too. 
They  are  all  six  on  the  high  Atlantic  this  day.  They  protest 
against  being  transported,  pleading  that  the  Queen's  commutation 
of  their  sentence  of  death  is  illegal — as  it  is.  But  Ministers  ask 
Parhament  for  an  "  Act  "  to  make  it  legal.  Of  course  they  will 
get  it,  and  without  delay.  Parliament  has  confidence  in 
Ministers  ;  and  if  they  asked  for  an  Act,  reciting,  "  Whereas  it 
is  expedient  that  the  bodies  of  William  Smith  O'Brien,  etc., 

should  be  put  on  board  the transport  ship,  and  conveyed 

to  ,"  and  thereupon  enacting  the  same  by  and  with  the 

consent  of  the  Queen's  most  Excellent  Majesty,  etc.,  etc.,  why, 
it  would  be  passed  for  them  amidst  loud  applause ;  for  Parlia- 
ment has  confidence  in  her  majesty's  advisers. 

If  at  any  time  for  one  moment  I  hesitated  about  holding  my 
transportation  a  high  honour,  I  repent  of  that  hesitation  now  ; 
for  John   Martin,  Smith   O'Brien,  and   Thomas   Meagher  are 


156 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


transported  convicts.  If  any  Irishmen  wish  to  be  accounted  an 
honest  man,  let  him  straightway  get  transported ;  let  him  aspire 
to  be  enrolled  amongst  those  whose  presence  in  Ireland  is  incom- 
patible with  the  existence  of  the  thing  called  "  Government " 
there — 

Aude  aliquid  brevibus  Gyaris  et  carcere  dignum 
Si  vis  esse  aliquis 

As  matter  of  curious  speculation,  now,  I  shall  be  desirous  of 
watching  the  upshot  of  this  business,  to  see  how  a  government 
will  get  on  after  hulking  several  of  the  very  best  men  in  the 
country  it  "  governs  "  ;  and  doing  it  not  by  law,  but  by  open 
and  avowed  perversion  of  law.  It  is  an  experiment  whose  result 
maybe  worth  noting.  How  cooUy  I  can  write  of  this  preter- 
natural atrocity  !     But  my  friends  are  all  men,  not  old  women. 

July  2yth. — I  have  written  nothing  for  a  week.  Have  had  a 
low  fever,  and  am  to-day  barely  able,  for  the  first  time,  to  crawl 
upon  deck.  We  are  still  rocking  in  the  roads  of  Pernambuco  ; 
by  British  tars  called  Penny-booker. 

I  do  affirm  before  God  that  there  are  no  three  men  now  living 
in  Ireland  more  reverentially  obedient  to  law,  more  thoi9Ughly 
and  devoutly  loyal,  than  those  three  now  on  their  way  to  the 
Antipodes  as  felons  and  outlaws.  It  is  because  they  reverence 
law,  and  scorn  and  loathe  the  false  simulacrum  of  law — because 
their  souls  have  yearned  for  peace,  older,  justice,  imder  the 
sacred  majesty  of  law — that  they  sail  in  a  convict  ship  to-day. 
Analysing,  here  at  a  distance,  the  character  of  all  my  acquaint- 
ances, I  know  not  three  other  men  so  expressly  formed  as  O'Brien, 
Martin,  and  Meagher,  for  a  life  of  tranquil  enjoyment,  and  the 
discharge  of  all  peaceful  duties  in  proud  obedience  to  the  laws 
of  the  land.  But  they  could  not  stand  by  and  see  diabolical 
injustice  wrought  without  end,  under  this  foul  pretence  of  law — 
they  would  not  be  parties  to  the  slaughter  of  their  countrymen 
by  millions  that  this  foul  pretence  of  law  might  flourish  for  ages 
to  come — "  And  of  its  fruit  their  babes  might  eat  and  die." — 
Therefore  they  sail  this  day  in  a  convict-ship  with  the  concen- 
trated quintessence  of  all  the  offal  of  mankind. 

For  my  own  part,  if  I  had  indeed  been  convicted  of  a  crime 
against  the  laws  of  my  country  I  could  not  support  my  life — the 
load  of  my  shame  would  be  too  heavy  for  me  to  bear. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  157 

Will  a  day  ever  come  to  set  these  things  right  ?  Possibly  never 
on  earth.  "  That  which  is  crooked  cannot  be  made  straight,  and 
that  which  is  wanting  cannot  be  numbered." 

I  have  just  had  a  visit  from  two  American  ship- captains,  whose 
vessels  lie  here.  They  approached  me  most  reverentially,  gave  me 
some  fine  language,  and  very  probably  took  notes  of  me.* 

August  4fh. — A  merchant  on  shore,  of  the  name  of  Dowsley, 
has  sent  me  a  hamper  of  fruit.  He  says  he  is  an  Irishman,  and 
claims  a  right  to  show  me  civility  on  that  account. 

Have  not  of  course  asked  leave  to  go  ashore,  though  probably  I 
might  have  leave  for  the  asking — ^but  I  ask  for  nothing.  I  re- 
member, if  that  be  any  comfort — that  Prince  Louis  Bonaparte, 
when  he  was  transported  in  Louis  Philippe's  time,  and  his  ship 
lay  in  the  harbour  of  Rio  on  this  same  coast,  was  kept  in  close 
custody  on  board,  and  not  permitted  to  set  a  foot  on  shore  not- 
withstanding urgent  entreaty.  One  would  not  neglect  any  topic 
of  consolation  that  turns  up.  The  mates  and  the  doctor,  however, 
who  have  visited  the  city,  tell  me  it  is  a  very  bustling  place  of 
business,  with  dirty  and  narrow  streets,  barely  wide  enough  for 
two  loaded  mules  to  pass — no  carriages,  a  great  many  pretty 
women,  Portuguese  and  Quadronas,  white  and  brown — tell  me, 
in  short,  what  anybody  may  find  in  books. 

The  enemy  thinks  I  am  dead.  In  a  parUamentary  report  in  one 
of  the  papers,  I  read  that  the  Home  Secretary,  replying  to  some 
inquiries  about  me  on  the  3rd  April,  spoke  as  follows  :  "On  his 
arrival  at  Bermuda,  he  was  found  to  be  in  such  a  state  of  health 
that  his  prolonged  sojourn  in  that  island  was  out  of  the  question. 
It  was  accordingly  arranged  [after  a  solitary  '  sojourn '  of  ten 
months]  that  he  should  be  transported  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
where  he  would  be  allowed  a  '  ticket-of-leave,'  in  the  event  of  his 
surviving  till  he  reached  that  colony — a  contingency  which, 
judging  by  the  most  recent  accounts  of  his  health,  appeared  to 
be  very  doubtful."  Let  the  Secretary  be  comforted.  He  will 
rejoice  when  he  learns  that  a  sea-voyage  has  been  so  beneficial 
to  his  interesting  patient's  health.  It  may  be,  after  all,  that  the 
rogues  want  to  kill  me. 

*  So  they  did.  I  have  just  read  in  the  Dublin  Freeman's  Journal,  the 
account  which  these  worthy  skippers  gave  of  their  interview.  Bothxvell, 
V.D.L.,  I2th  August,  1850. 


158 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


August  gth. — Pemambuco  still :  we  are  now  nearly  three  weeks 
at  anchor  here,  and  not  yet  supplied  with  stores  for  our  onward 
voyage.  The  reason  is,  we  are  lying  in  an  open  roadstead  two 
miles  from  land,  exposed  to  the  unbroken  roll  of  the  Atlantic  ;  and 
usually  the  swell  is  so  high  that  the  merchant  who  has  contracted 
to  supply  us  cannot  induce  the  people  to  come  out  in  their  lighters. 
Then,  perhaps,  a  fine  day  comes,  but  it  is  a  holiday,  so  the  bells 
are  all  ringing,  the  people  in  their  gala  dresses,  and  nothing  to  be 

done.      Our  people,  skipper  and  mates the  lazy  foreign 

lubbers.  "  Think  of  the  excuse  the  rascals  make,"  said  the  mate 
to  me — "  They  don't  choose  to  risk  the  loss  of  their  slaves  coming 

off  in  this  weather their  eyes!  Why,  English  or  American 

boatmen  would  have  finished  the  job  long  ago."  Indeed,  the 
Brazilian  people  who  come  off  to  the  ship  take  the  impatience  of 
these  English  coolly,  and  as  a  matter  of  course — they  expect  it 
always,  and  seem  to  regard  headlong  hurry  as  a  national  disease, 
pitying  the  sufferers,  but  taking  good  care  not  to  be  affected  them- 
selves. I  do  respect  an  indolent  nation,  a  nation  that  will  take 
its  time,  will  take  its  hoUdays,  and  will  not  risk  the  loss  of  its 
slaves.  Your  English  and  Yankees  go  too  much  ahead — hardly 
give  themselves  time  to  sleep  and  eat,  let  alone  praying — keep 
the  social  machinery  working  at  too  high  a  pressure  (endangering 
the  bursting  of  their  boilers),  and  for  ever  out  of  breath.  Do 
they  call  this  living  ? 

Long  life,  then,  to  the  subjects  of  the  Emperor — seeing  they 
insist  upon  living  all  their  lives :  long  and  easy  life  to  them  : 
long  may  they  reap  without  need  of  sowing — may  the  forest 
yield  them  store  of  plaintain  and  spontaneous  cassava-bread — 
may  their  sugar-canes  drop  abundant  sweetness,  and  boundless 
prairies  rear  them  countless  herds ! — So  shall  holidays  abound, 
and  the  Virgin  and  all  saints  be  duly  honoured. 


CHAPTER   X 

August  gth — On  board  the  "  Neptune,"  of  Pernambuco. — Let  me 
not  omit,  after  all,  to  chronicle  here  the  fact  that  Brazil  cannot 
be  an  absolute  paradise  either  for  white,  black,  brown  or  red. 
But  a  few  months  have  passed  by  since  there  was  a  bloody  insur- 
rection of  the  slaves  in  this  Pernambuco.  And,  Dr.  Dees  tells  me, 
the  city  bears  ample  witness  to  its  violence  in  wrecked  houses  and 
the  like.  In  the  other  two  great  cities  of  Rio  and  Bahia,  also, 
there  have  been  formidable  insurrections  of  late.  I  see  no  great 
harm  in  this  :  the  moment  the  black  and  brown  people  are  able, 
they  will  have  a  clear  right  to  exchange  positions  with  the 
Portuguese  race.  That  is  to  say  if  the  Portuguese  have  now  any 
right  to  hold  the  others  in  slavery  at  all. 

For  the  actual  traffic  in  slaves  from  Africa  it  was  always  sad 
enough  to  think  of  ;  but  Sir  Fowell  Buxton  (this  I  beheve  is  the 
name  of  him)  and  his  humane  accomphces  in  the  British  Parha- 
ment  have  aggravated  the  horrors  of  it  four-fold.  For  in  order 
to  procure  the  requisite  supply  now,  in  spite  of  the  pirate  cruisers 
of  humanity,  four  times  the  number  of  slaves  have  to  be  shipped  ; 
they  calculate  on  losing  three  cargoes  out  of  four,  but  those  three 
cargoes,  if  so  lost  to  them,  are  not  taken  from  them  by  the  cruisers, 
and  set  free  or  "apprenticed," — not  at  all — they  are  thrown  over- 
board all  ahve,  to  avoid  the  forfeiture  of  the  ships.  When  slavers 
are  chased  by  a  humanity  pirate,  and  in  danger  of  being  taken 
they  simply  pitch  all  the  negroes  into  the  sea,  together  with  the 
loose  planks  that  make  the  slave  deck,  and  then  he  to  and  invite 
the  British  officer  on  board.  He  finds  no  slaves,  and  by  the  terms 
of  the  treaties  must  let  the  ship  go  free.  Then  the  captain  pro- 
ceeds along  the  coast  of  Africa  again  to  get  another  cargo.  But 
this  is  not  the  only  loss  the  shippers  have  to  count  upon.  For- 
merly they  used,  iSr  their  own  sake,  to  provide  roomy  ships  for 
the  slaves,  and  to  embark  in  each  only  so  many  as  could  be 
properly  accommodated,  with  due  attention  to  their  health — ^if 
it  were  but  pigs  a  man  were  importing  from  abroad,  he  would 

159 


i6o  JAIL  JOURNAL 

take  care  to  have  them  stowed  in  such  a  manner  as  would  give 
him  a  good  chance  of  receiving  them  alive — but  by  reason  of  the 
benevolent  pirates,  they  have  now  to  build  small  brigs  and 
schooners,  with  a  view  to  speed  mainly,  and  stow  the  poor 
creatures  in  a  solid  mass,  with  their  heads  touching  the  deck  as 
they  sit,  and  each  man  having  another  man  sitting  between  his 
legs — each  body  being  thus  in  actual  contact  with  other  bodies 
on  all  its  four  sides — every  man  flattening  his  nose  against  a 
woolly  head  in  front,  and  having  a  nose  flattening  itself  against 
his  own  woolly  head  behind.  So  Sir  Fowell  Buxton  has  arranged 
them.  Therefore,  about  one-third  of  them  always  die,  and  the 
survivors  arrive  in  a  state  of  miserable  debility  and  pain,  from 
which  many  never  recover. 

Few  persons,  except  some  serious  old  women,  are  such  fools  as 
to  believe  that  the  British  Government  keeps  on  foot  that  African 
armament  with  any  view  to  humanity  at  all,  or  conscience,  or 
Christianity,  or  any  of  the  fine  things  they  pretend  in  Parliament. 
They  have  just  two  motives  in  it :  (me  is  to  cut  off  the  supply  of 
labour  from  the  sugar-growers  of  Brazil  and  Cuba,  or  make  it  so 
dear  to  them  that  they  cannot  compete  with  the  planters  of 
Jamaica  and  Barbadoes  ;  and  the  other  is  to  maintain  British 
"  naval  supremacy  "  and  the  piratical  claim  of  a  right  to  search 
ships,  and  accustom  the  eyes  of  all  who  sail  the  seas  to  the  sight 
of  the  English  flag  domineering  over  everything  it  meets,  like  a 
bully,  as  it  is. 

Aug.  loth. — To-day  I  learn  that  we  have  actually  got  our  stores 
on  board,  and  are  to  weigh  anchor  to-morrow.  Had  a  visit  from 
Mr.  Dowsley,  who  is  our  contractor  for  supplying  the  ship.  Asked 
him  a  great  deal  about  Brazil ;  he  says  it  is  a  noble  country  to 
live  in — "  and  a  genuine  land  of  liberty,  too,"  he  added.  Told 
him  I  was  not  quite  prepared  to  hear  that ;  "  But  you  mean," 
quoth  I,  "  that  the  laws  are  made  by  Brazihans,  not  by  strangers, 
and  are  fairly  administered,  arid  for  Brazil,  not  for  any  foreign 
nation  :  if  you  mean  that,  it  is  liberty  indeed."  He  did  not 
exactly  mean  that,  though  that  was  all  true — he  meant  that  they 
had  regular  representative  government  and  elections,  "  and  all 
that."  Asked  him  how  the  elections  were  carried  on — if  there 
was  much  excitement  and  party-feeling — also  what  the  party 
feeling  was  all  about,  and  what  parties  they  were  at  all.    "  Party- 


00 
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JAIL  JOURNAL  i6i 

feeling  !  "  said  he  ;  "  excitement !  Oh  there  is  nothing  of  all 
that — the  whole  business  is  managed  by  the  poUce."  "  By  the 
police  ?  Is  there  not  voting,  then  ?  are  there  not  rival  candidates  ? 
"  No,  no  ;  the  poUce  provide  the  candidate — and  as  to  voting, 
or  venturing  to  propose  rival  candidates,  bless  your  soul !  the 
police  would  allow  nothing  of  that  sort — they  would  soon  clear 
out  the  place,  and  shut  it  up."  "  The  key,"  quoth  I,  "  belongs, 
I  suppose,  to  the  Emperor.  But  I  understand  you  now ;  and 
if  the  laws  be  indeed,  as  you  say,  just  and  fairly  administered, 
why,  Brazil  is  a  genuine  land  of  liberty — only  the  poUce  elections 
might  perhaps  be  dispensed  with." 

Mr.  Dowsley  tells  me  I  have  many  friends  in  Pemambuco — so 
many  that,  said  he,  whenever  you  are  at  Uberty  to  go  where  you 
hke,  you  could  not  do  better  than  come  and  settle  here.  Told 
him  I  should  consider  that,  so  soon  as  the  world  was  all  before 
me,  where  to  choose.  He  gave  me,  also,  a  pleasant  piece  of  news, 
if  true — that  my  brother  William  has  obtained  a  situation  under 
the  American  Government,  and  that  he  is  residing  at  Washington. 
There  could  be  no  mistake,  he  said,  for  the  person  was  described 
in  the  American  papers  as  Mr.  William  Mitchel,  brother  to  the 
rebel. 

12th. — Came  on  deck  this  morning,  and  saw,  dimly  fading  off 
on  the  horizon,  the  long-stretching  coast  of  South  America,  with 
its  beautiful  white-walled  city  and  endless  wilderness  of  primeval 
forests.  It  is  all  gone  :  the  sun  is  high,  and  we  are  in  blue  water 
again.  Have  my  eyes  verily  seen  forests  and  cities  on  the  firm 
continent  of  South  America,  firm,  rock-based,  wide-watered 
continent,  crowned  by  the  many-fountained  Cordilleras  ?  Or  is  it 
all  a  ghostly  dream  ?  A  dieam  indeed,  and  also  real ;  I  have 
eaten  golden  fruit  fresh  plucked  from  Hesperidean  trees  ;  I  have 
drunk  of  cool  waters  that  gushed  out  of  far  BraziUan  mountains, 
where  the  arch-chftnist  sun  breeds  diamond  and  chrysoUte ;  I 
have  heard  the  tolling  of  South  American  bells,  noted  the  time 
by  a  South  American  clock,  yet  never  set  foot  on  South  American 
ground.  This  authentic  vision  has  passed  before  my  face — 
whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell — and  is 
gone — the  wind's  wings  have  wafted  it — the  great  deep  has 
opened  and  swallowed  it.    Adieu !  adieu  ! 

There  is  somewhat  dreamhke  indeed  in  this  Ufe  I  am  leading, 
n 


l62  JAIL  JOURNAL 

My  utter  loneliness  in  this  populous  ship  amidst  the  strange 
grandeur  of  the  ocean,  and  for  so  many  days- — the  continual 
bustle  and  work,  with  their  incidental  merriment  or  quarrelling, 
that  naturally  go  on  where  four  distinct  communities  are  josthng 
each  other — the  sailors,  the  convicts,  the  soldiers  and  the  cabin 
gentry  (besides  me  who  am  a  community  by  myself).  And  the 
numberless  questions  that  arise  to  be  settled  and  interests  to  be 
reconciled  almost  within  arm's  length  of  me — ^while  for  me  no 
question  or  interest  arises  at  all,  but  all  my  life  is  in  the  seeing  of 
the  eye  only  :  and  then  my  objective  famiUarity  with  the  faces, 
names,  voices,  and  even  characters  of  these  soldiers  who  are  for 
ever  talking,  laughing,  and  humming  their  tunes  (the  whole 
detachment  have  but  three)  before  my  open  window,  while  they 
know  not  the  sound  of  my  voice — and  then  this  wondrous  rising, 
like  an  exhalation  from  the  sea,  of  gorgeous  forests  and  cities,  and 
again  their  wondrous  setting.  All  this  makes  me  feel  like  a  man 
before  whose  entranced  vision  some  phantasmagoria  is  flitting  by  : 
they  are  ghosts,  these  sailors  and  soldiers,  doing  their  ghostly 
business  before  me  on  the  great  deep  for  a  season  ;  and  in  the 
morning  the  cock  will  crow  for  me  in  some  distant  land,  and  I 
shall  awake,  and  the  whole  rout  of  Atlantic  spirits  shall  vanish 
speedily,  shrieking  on  the  blast.  Whereupon  enter  other  ghosts. 
But  do  I  learn  nothing — ^find  no  food  for  thought  in  the  move- 
ments and  gibberings  of  these  ghosts  ? — In  the  actions  cind 
relations,  external  and  internal  of  these  four  commonwealths,  in 
the  psychological  phenomena  of  so  many  phantasmic  men,  is 
there  then  no  light,  no  order,  nothing  but  the  chaotic  stuff  that 
dreams  are  made  of  ?  Here,  also  is  not  my  long  neglected  educa- 
tion making  progress  ?  "Even  here  there  is  pabulum  for  the 
soul,  more  or  less — and  a  harvest  for  the  quiet  eye  to  reap — 

Ba^etav  aXoKahia.  <f>pivhs  KapTrovfievov, 
E$  rjs  (God  send  it  !)  ra  KeSva  BAowrTavci 
BovAcv/iara. 

Sept.  nth. — A  month  from  Pemambuco — Four  months  and 
twenty  days  from  Bermuda,  yet  still  more  than  a  thousand  miles 
from  the  Cape  ;  but  we  have  now  a  steady  fair  wind,  which  is  often 
a  heavy  gale,  and  forces  us  to  strip  to  our  close-reefed  topsails.  It 
is  here  the  depth  of  the  southern  winter,  and  as  we  are  several 


JAIL  JOURNAL  163 

degrees  south  of  the  Cape  latitude,  it  is  very  cold.  After  the 
flagrant  equinoctial  summer  we  have  passed,  I  am  somewhat  sen- 
sitive to  the  chill  of  this  wind  from  the  antarcticice  mountains — 
and  my  enemy,  like  a  cowardly  lubber,  has  made  several  foul 
attacks  upon  me  ;  but  I  have  defied  him,  and  trampled  him  under 
foot.  A  flock  of  Cape  pigeons  never  leaves  us  ;  these  are,  in  fact, 
a  kind  of  petrel,  but  the  British  tax  calls  them  Cape  pigeons.  They 
are  most  beautiful  and  graceful  creatures,  as  they  skim,  on  level 
wings,  round  and  round  the  ship  (making  no  more  account  of  our 
nine-knot  speed  than  they  do  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes), 
or,  as  they  float,  with  their  white  breasts  proudly  imdulant  on  the 
long  swell.  Also,  we  have  usually  three  or  four  great  albatrosses 
flying  round,  with  their  long,  sinewy,  rigid  wings  (twelve  feet  from 
tip  to  tip),  bent  into  the  shape  of  a  Turkish  scimitar.  Heaven 
knows  how  deeply  I  envy  these  albatrosses  their  subUme  faculty 
of  locomotion,  and  the  preternatural  lungs  the  devils  have.  Is 
there  in  all  the  world  an  asthmatic  albatross  ?  I  think  not ;  for  if 
any  one  of  them  were  so  afflicted,  the  rest  would  instantly  set  upon 
him  and  put  him  to  death,  according  to  that  universal  instinct 
which  prevails  among  brutes,  and  perhaps  ought  to  prevail 
among  men  also,  those  anomalous  and  fallen  brutes.  A  herd  of 
deer  will  drive  the  wounded  one  from  their  society,  or  gore  him 
to  death ;  poultry  have  no  sjnnpathy  with  a  sick  hen  ;  your 
community  of  beavers — a  well-regulated  commonwealth — keeps 
no  hospital  for  ailing  beavers,  but  just  sends  them  down  the  river. 
Even  amongst  mankind,  the  simple-minded,  unsophisticated 
Troglodyte*  carefully  strangled  aU  their  worn-out  and  sickly 
fellow-citizens,  but  solemnly  and  in  an  honourable  manner,  with 
a  cow's  tail.  One  of  the  soldiers  here  caught  a  Cape  pigeon  in  a 
lasso,  put  a  broad  collar  of  red  cloth  on  it,  and  sent  if  off  again  ; 
it  flew  about  the  ship  as  usual  for  a  while,  but  the  others,  when 
they  observed  its  red  deformity,  fell  upon  the  poor  bird  with 
great  animosity,  and  he  soon  disappeared  from  their  company. 
This  is  not  for  naught ;  are  sick  beavers  to  expect  that  the  pubUc 
granary  will  be  open  to  them,  seeing  they  never  put  a  grain  into 
it  ?  Are  invalid  albatrosses,  who  cannot  fish,  to  think  they  will 
be  fished  for  ?  Above  all,  is  a  monstrous  red-backed  sea-pigeon 
to  be  allowed  to  deprave  the  breed,  and  in  time  confound  the 
^hereditary  colours  oi  the  whole  South  Atlantic  family  ?    We  are 


i64  JAIL  JOURNAL 

often  bid  to  take  lessons  of  industry  from  bees,  beavers,  ants  ;  of 
faithfulness  from  dogs ;  of  gentleness  from  lambs  and  doves ; 
and  why  may  not  human  statists  leam  something  of  prudent 
sea-pigeons  and  poUtic  beavers  ;  especially  as  this  conservative 
maxim  of  social  economy  is  confirmed  (for  I  deny  the  story  of 
the  storks)  by  every  beast,  after  its  kind,  throughout  all  zoology. 
Not  that  my  mind  is  made  up  on  the  applicability  of  the  beastly 
maxim  to  our  case  ;  the  civilised  human  practice  may  be  better 
for  human  animals,  possibly — in  their  fallen  state,  as  it  were.  I 
only  throw  out  the  brutal  idea,  that's  all — ex  volucrum  monedula- 
runtque  regno.  One  is  not  bound,  I  suppose,  to  make  up  one's 
mind  on  all  the  questions  that  arise. 

One  question,  however,  is  easily  settled.  The  British  transpor- 
tation system  is  the  very  worst  scheme  of  criminal  punishment 
that  ever  was  contrived  ;  and  I  seriously  think  it  was  contrived 
by  the  devil,  with  the  assistance  of  some  friends.  Something  of 
its  working  I  saw  and  heard  at  Bermuda  ;  but  since  I  embarked 
on  board  this  ship,  Mr.  Stewart,  the  "  instructor,"  an  intelligent 
man,  has  been  telling  me  more  and  more  horrible  particulars. 
He  has  had  peculiar  opportunities  of  making  himself  acquainted 
with  the  details  of  its  operation,  because,  before  he  became  a 
chaplain  to  transport  ships,  he  was  employed  for  years  as  a 
missionary  in  the  pauper  purheus  of  London.  The  people  there, 
he  assures  me,  speak  of  transportation  without  the  least  horror 
or  repugnance,  merely  as  one  of  the  ways  of  making  off  life,  and, 
on  the  whole,  as  rather  a  good  line  of  business.  The  notion  of 
ignominy  that  we  are  accustomed  to  attach  to  it,  has  quite 
disappeared,  he  tells  me,  in  the  midst  of  the  bitter  poverty  and 
hideous  debasement  of  those  regions.  Amongst  the  prisoners 
brought  out  to  Bermuda,  in  the  Neptune's  present  excursion,  was 
one  young  man  of  rather  good  address,  by  trade  a  locksmith. 
This  fellow,  after  he  was  removed  from  the  depot  prison,  and  put 
on  board  the  Neptune,  at  Portsmouth,  wrote  a  most  affectionate 
letter  jointly  to  his  father  and  mother  ;  but,  as  he  attempted  to 
send  it  privately,  it  was  intercepted,  read,  and  destroyed.  It  was 
to  the  effect  that  he  had  embarked  on  board  ship  for  Bermuda — 
that  he  was  in  an  agreeable  mess  ;  that  he  was  never  asked  to  do 
anything  (like  the  poor  devils  of  sailors  and  soldiers  on  board), 
i)ut  ate  and  drank  of  the  best,  and  walked  about  "  like  a  gentle- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  165 

man  " — that  if  he  had  known  how  pleasant  a  thing  it  was  to  be 
transported,  he  would  have  turned  his  attention  to  it  long  ago  ; 
that  he  was  in  prime  spirits  ;  and,  finally,  that  he  intended  to 
take  a  black  woman  at  Bermuda,  and  would  live  very  happily. 
This,  it  seems,  is  the  usual  way  in  which  such  matters  are  talked 
of  ;  and  one  would  not  wonder  at  a  man  writing  to  his  brother- 
burglar  in  this  strain  ;  but,  God's  mercy  !  think  of  a  fellow  writing 
to  his  parents  so — as  an  encouragement  for  them  to  bring  up 
his  brothers  and  sisters  to  the  same  jolly  profession  ! 

But  if  this  transportation  turns  out  to  be  no  punishment  at  all 
to  the  criminal  population  generally,  it  is,  on  the  contrary  (and 
partly  for  that  very  reason)  a  far  too  severe  punishment^ — far 
worse  that  the  cruellest  death — to  the  unhardened  and  casual 
delinquents,  who  have  sometimes,  for  one  moment  of  mad  passion 
and  sore  temptation,  to  dree  this  rueful  doom.  No  punishment, 
but  a  sure  and  comfortable  establishment  for  all  the  tribe  of  pro- 
fessed rascaldom — ^but  utter,  final  shipwreck  of  soul  and  body  to 
the  poor  wanderer,  who  might  be  taken  by  the  hand  and  led  from 
the  devil's  path,  if  only  the  laws  were  made  and  administered  by 
any  others  than  the  devil's  servants. 

One  main  feature  in  convict  Ufe  I  have  ascertained  to  be  a  deep 
and  heartfelt  respect  for  atrocious  villainy — respect  the  more  pro- 
found as  the  villainy  is  more  outrageous.  If  anything  can  add 
to  the  esteem  which  a  man  in  the  felon  world  secures  by  the  reck- 
less brutaUty  of  his  language  and  manners,  the  extent  of  his 
present  thievings,  and  ingenuity  of  his  daily  lyings,  it  is  the 
enormity  of  the  original  offence  for  which  he  is  supposed  to  be 
suffering.  Several  instances  of  this  fact,  which  have  been  told  me 
since  I  came  on  board  the  Neptune,  remind  me  of  a  whimsical 
illustration  of  the  same  which  I  saw  last  year,  while  I  passed  a 
few  days  in  the  Tenedos  hospital  ship.  On  my  arrival  theie,  I 
had  hardly  been  left  alone  in  my  cabin  before  a  convict  softly 
entered.  He  was  a  servant  to  the  iassistant-surgeon,  and  came 
with  a  pine-apple  which  his  master  had  sent  me.  The  man  was 
about  50  years  of  age,  but  very  stout  and  active-looking,  and 
highly  consequential  in  his  manner,  as  it  soon  turned  out  he  had 
a  good  right  to  be.  "  I  trust,  sir,"  said  he,  "  you  will  find  every- 
thing as  you  wish  here  :  if  I  can  do  anjrthing  for  you,  I'm  sure  I 
shall  be  happy— I'm  Garrett."     "  Well,  Garrett  ?  "   quoth  I. 


l66  JAIL  JOVRNAL 

"  Garrett,  sir,  Garrett ;  you  must  know  all  about  me ;  it  was  in 
all  the  papers ;  Garrett,  you  know."  "  Never  heard  of  you 
before,  Geirrett."  "  Oh !  decir,  yes,  sir,  you  must  be  quite  well 
aware  of  it — the  great  railway  affair,  you  remember."  "  No,  I 
do  not."     "  Oh  !  then  I  am  Mr.  Garrett,  who  was  connected  with 

the railway  (I  forget  the  name  of  the  railway).    It  was  a 

matter  of  £40,000  I  realised.  Forty  thousand  pounds,  sir  :  left 
it  behind  me,  sir,  with  Mrs.  Garrett :  she  is  living  in  England  in 
very  handsome  style.  I  have  been  here  now  two  years,  and  Uke 
it  very  well — devilish  fine  brown  girls  here,  sir — I  am  very  highly 
thought  of — created  a  great  sensation  when  I  came.  In  fact, 
imtil  you  came,  I  was  reckoned  the  first  man  in  the  colony. 
Forty  thousand  pounds,  sir — not  a  farthing  less.  But  now  you 
have  cut  me  out."  I  rose  and  bowed  to  this  subUme  rascal. 
The  overwhelming  idea — that  I  should  supersede  a  swindler  of 
forty-thousand-pound-power,  was  too  much  for  me.  So  I  said, 
graciously  bowing,  "  Oh,  sir,  you  do  me  too  much  honour  :  I  am 
sure  you  are  far  more  worthy  of  the  post  of  distinction.  For  me, 
I  never  saw  so  much  money  in  all  my  life  as  forty  thousand 
pounds."  "  My  dear  sir,"  said  my  friend,  bowing  back  again — 
"  My  dear  sir !  but  then  you  are  a  prisoner  of  state,  patriotic 
martjnr,  and  all  that.  Indeed,  for  my  part,  my  Uttle  affair  was 
made  a  concern  of  State,  too.  Lord  John  Russell,  since  I  came 
out  here,  had  a  private  application  made  to  me,  offering  to  remit 
my  whole  sentence  if  I  would  disclose  my  method — the  way  I 
had  done  it,  you  know :  they  want  to  guard  against  similar 
things  in  other  lines,  you  understand."  "  I  trust,  sir,"  quoth  I, 
respectfully,  "  you  treated  the  man's  apphcation  with  the  con- 
tempt it  deserved."  The  miscreant  winked  with  one  eye.  I  tried 
to  wink,  but  failing,  bowed  again.  "  You  may  be  sure  of  that, 
sir,"  said  he — "  'tis  very  little  I  care  for  any  of  them :  I  enjoy 
myself  here  very  much — have  never  had  a  day's  illness — very 
often  go  across  to  this  nearest  island  to  look  after  Dr.  Beck's 
ducks.  Ah !  sir,  there  are  two  or  three  splendid  coloured  girls 
on  that  island  :  then  I  sometimes  correspond  with  the  news- 
papeis  :  have  a  private  way  of  getting  anything  I  please  sent  out, 
without  these  people  knowing  anything  about  it — should  be 
most  happy  to  have  any  document  sent  for  you  in  a  quiet  way, 
you  know — of  course  you  will  want  to  show  up  those  rascals 


jAit^  JOXJMAL  i6f 

flow  aiid  theii."  **  No,  Garrett,"  said  I,  getting  tired,  "  there, 
that  will  do,  you  may  leave  the  room."  The  old  monster  looked 
a  little  blank,  but  walked  off  at  once,  and  as  I  requested  to  be 
protected  from  such  intrusion  for  the  future.  Dr.  Hsdl  took  the 
order  with  him,  and  I  saw  him  no  more. 

Now,  this  railway  swindler  is  a  man  of  rather  good  address — 
far  better  than  Hudson,  the  head  of  his  sect,  I  believe,  can  boast 
of ;  a  portly  man,  a  respectable  man,  one  who  understands  his 
own  high  position  in  society,  and  his  claims  to  the  respect  and 
consideration  of  the  world — he  has  "  done  "  the  world  out  of 
forty  thousand  pounds — and  it  is  a  claim  which  amongst  true- 
bom  Britons  is  always  admitted  instantly.  I  shall  not  be  sur- 
prised to  hear  of  Mr.  Garrett  representing,  a  few  years  hence, 
some  great  commercial  constituency  in  that  majestic  assembly 
the  British  Parhament,  and  making  "  laws  "  there.  But  no,  I 
err — it  is  only  your  unconvicted  felon  who  can  aspire  to  that 
honour.  If  I  had  the  ordering  of  the  matter,  however,  I  would 
transport  Garrett  to  St.  Stephen's  to  represent  York  there,  and 
return  Hudson  to  Bermuda  to  serve  as  member  for  the  North 
Junction  Railway — or  else  (what  would  be  better  still)  I  would 
hang  them  both. 

I  have  done.  Absolutely  I  will  lecture  on  convict  economy 
no  more;  but  only  repeat  here,  that  if  a  prize  were  offered 
amongst  "  thirty  thousand  cart-loads  of  black  devils  "  to  any 
devil  of  them  who  would  invent  the  most  diaboUc  system  of 
criminal  jurisprudence  for  mankind,  the  devil  a  fiend  amongst 
them  could  improve  on  the  modem  and  enUghtened  British 
system  of  transportation. 

Two  soldiers  before  my  window  have  been  disputing  some 
matter  of  fact ;  they  have  freely  called  one  another  liars  ;  as 
indeed  they  do  continually.  This  sort  of  language  the  poor 
fellows  are  obUged  to  take  and  permitted  to  return ;  and  to 
resent  it  by  a  blow  would  be  treated  as  a  serious  breach  of 
discipline.  I  greatly  desire  to  know  whether  a  French  or  Austrian 
soldier  is  obUged  to  take,  and  allowed  to  give,  the  he  direct 
amongst  his  comrades.  To  me  it  seems  that  nothing  is  more 
degrading  to  manhood  than  this ;  except  only  scourging — 'and 
British  soldiers  have  to  endure  both.  But  the  British  soldier, 
or  any  other  British  poor  man,  must  not  be  indulged  in  the 


i68  JAIL  JOURNAL 

feeling  of  self-respect  or  personal  dignity  ;  that  is  for  his  betters 
• — respect  for  the  service  he  may  have,  jealous  regard  to  the  honour 
of  his  regiment,  high  pride  in  those  fine  young  men,  his  officers — 
but  a  thought  of  individual  honour,  and  the  quick  resentment  of 
a  personal  indignity,  are  things  far  above  his  sphere.  "  An 
officer  and  a  gentleman  "  would  laugh  consumedly  at  any  such 
phenomenon  in  a  private  soldier,  or  other  man  belonging  to  one 
of  the  ungentlemanly  castes. 

In  no  country  on  earth  is  the  immeasurable  distance  between 
gentry  and  vulgar  so  constantly  and  offensively  kept  in  view 
throughout  the  whole  social  system,  as  in  England.  In  a  "  Tour  " 
on  the  Rhine,  executed  by  Chambers,  an  Edinburgh  literator,  I 
remember  that  the  writer  cannot  forbear  from  showing  how  much 
his  British  notions  of  propriety  were  confounded,  when  in  some  of 
the  great  frontier  garrison-towns  occupied  by  Belgian,  Prussian, 
and  Austrian  troops,  he  saw  officers  of  high  rank  nodding 
famiUarly  to  the  privates  as  they  passed,  or  standing  chatting 
and  laughing  for  a  while  with  two  or  three  of  them  at  a  street 
comer.  Let  the  human  mind  try  to  imagine  one  of  our  super- 
cilious young  gentlemen  (not  drunk)  behaving  in  a  manner  so 
derogatory  to  the  character  of  a  British  officer. 

I  have  learned  at  Bermuda,  and  without  surprise,  that  soldiers 
often  intentionally  exchange  from  the  military  service  into  the 
"  convict  service."  That  is  to  say,  they  desert,  knowing  that  if 
taken  they  will  be  transported,  and  dehberately  preferring  the  life 
of  a  convict  to  the  hard  duty  and  debased  position  of  a  soldier. 
Once,  while  I  was  in  Bermuda,  a  ship  came  in  from  Halifax, 
bringing  twenty-two  deserters  to  the  hulks  ;  and  it  is  remarkable 
that  their  regiment  had  been  quartered  at  Bermuda  two  years  be- 
fore ;  therefore  they  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  the  Queen's 
convict  service,  and  disliked  garrison  duty  in  comparison.  I  saw 
these  men  as  they  were  brought  into  the  Dromedary  hulk,  and 
ranged  on  deck — they  seemed  in  excellent  spirits.  Further,  I 
learn  that  deserted  soldiers  make  nearly  a  fifth  part  of  the  whole 
number  of  prisoners  in  the  colony  ;  and  that  on  board  this  Neptune 
are  some  twenty  deserters  or  more.  What  wonder  ?  Self-respect 
is  dead  already  within  these  men,  or  rather  machines — felony  can 
bring  them  no  lower.  A  soldier,  to  be  sure,  is  told  that  it  is  an 
honour  to  belong  to  the  glorious  and  immortal  British  service,  and 


JAIL  JOURNAL  169 

that  hard  as  the  Ufe  is,  it  is  not  degrading  like  the  convict  service 
— ^he  is  told  so  ;  but  he  feels  his  degradation — or  else  is  so  utterly 
degraded  that  he  feels  it  not :  he  knows  that  he  is  liable  to  be 
flogged  hke  a  slave  or  a  beast  of  burden — and  what  can  they  do 
to  a  convict  more  ?  In  the  haughty  bearing  of  his  superiors,  he  is 
made  to  feel  that  the  gulf  separating  him  from  the  respectable 
classes  is  just  as  wide  and  impassable  as  felony  could  make  it. 
He  has  no  franchise,  no  citizenship,  no  home,  any  more  than  a 
convict.  Then  he  knows  that  a  convict  has  an  easier  hfe,  has 
good  and  abundant  food,  fewer  mz^sters  over  him,  is  not  strangled 
with  belts  and  knapsack,  nor  choked  with  pipe-clay — ^has 
generally  a  shorter  time  to  serve,  and  the  prospect  of  a  favour- 
able settlement  in  some  fertile  colony  at  last. 

Whether  these  are  the  considerations  that  commonly  induce 
soldiers  to  make  this  exchange  or  not,  I  am  told  that  in 
practice  transported  deserters  speak  of  themselves  as  "  pro- 
moted" ;  from  the  ranks,  namely,  to  the  gangs. 

^^  In  the  Irish  Army  there  shall  be  no  scourging.  Deserter 
for  first  offence,  shall  be  imprisoned,  for  second,  shot.  Note 
further,  there  shall  be  no  'pipe-clay.  Men  shall  not  be  kept  in 
perpetual  clouds  of  white  dust,  labouring  to  conceal  the  dirt  of 
their  accoutrements  with  coats  of  still  dirtier  dirt. 

I  have  now  sufficiently  viUpended  two  branches  of  the  United 
Service — the  convict  and  the  military  ;  the  naval  must  be  kept  for 
another  occasion.  May  God  look  down  upon  us  all,  soldiers  and 
convicts,  officers,  and  turnkeys  ;  and  especially  the  unhappy 
statesmen  who  are  expected  to  order  all  these  matters  aright 
(without  an  idea  of  order  in  their  heads,  or  a  ray  of  truth  in  their 
souls)  ;  and  more  especially  me,  lonely,  sea-faring  patriot  and 
mBLTtyr,  who  am  thus  austerely  animadverting  upon  mankind,  as 
we  tear  through  the  heavy  seas  under  close-reefed  topsail,  about 
four  hundred  leagues  from  land.  It  is  deep  in  the  night.  The 
wind  roars  wildly,  and  the  waning  moon  shines  in  upon  me  with 
pale  face  through  the  shrouds.  So  I  go  upon  deck  to  see  the  grim 
white  moonshine  on  the  tossing  manes  of  ten  thousand  breaking 
billows.  A  yellow  summer  moon  streaming  soft  through  the 
whispering  tops  of  bowery  trees  upon  velvet-swarded  glades,  is 
one  thing,  and  this  grim  white  moon  careering  through  torn  and 
rifted  clouds,  on  a  stormy  night  at  sea,  is  quite  another  thing, 


170 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


though  Euler's  calculations,  I  beUeve,  are  said  to  be  applicable  i6 
both.  After  all,  the  winter  moon  of  these  southern  oceans  is  no 
other  than  the  very  harvest  moon  of  Ireland,  shining  calmly  into 
the  room  where  my  children  are  sleeping  this  blessed  night.  For 
we  are  not  far  from  the  meridian  of  Newry,  though  six  thousand 
miles  to  the  south ;  and  I  know  that  this  white  disk  struggling 
here  through  antarctic  storm-clouds  is  the  very  globe  of  silver 
that  hangs  to-night  between  the  branches  of  the  laurels  of  Droma- 
lane.  A  thought  this,  compiled  from  somebody ;  I  only  know  it 
does  not  belong  to  me.  It  was  once  Jean  Paul  Richter's,  no 
doubt ;  but  is  not  Jean  Paul  dead  ?  And  has  he  not  bequeathed 
this  and  all  his  other  assets  and  effects  to  you  and  to  me  ? 

I2ih. — ^We  are  still  clearing  more  than  two  himdred  miles  a  day, 
and  that  point-blank  towards  the  Cape.  Some  god  with  his  broad 
hand  is  urging  our  keel  below  ;  either  that  or  else  this  snoring  north- 
west wind  is  doing  it.  We  shall  certainly  make  the  coast  of  Africa 
within  a  week,  if  we  hold  on  our  way.  Everybody  on  board  seems 
more  aUve,  as  if  awaking  from  a  long  doze.  There  is  one  woman 
in  the  ship,  the  wife  of  a  sergeant,  who  is  coming  out  as  guard  to 
the  convicts.  By  great  luck  she  is  an  Irishwoman,  of  the  coimty 
Clare.  By  good  luck,  because  for  twelve  months  and  more  I  have 
heard  no  other  human  accents  than  the  loathsome  twang  of  vulgar 
English — ^which  is  just  barely  human.  When  Mrs.  Nolan,  there- 
fore, comes  up  to  the  poop  for  a  little  fresh  air,  I  always  go  and 
talk  with  her  a  while,  merely  that  I  may  fill  my  ears  with  the 
liquid  music  that  distils  from  a  kindly  Munster  tongue.  It  is 
well  that  she  is  so  old  (say  half  a  century),  else  I  should  fall  in 
love  with  Mrs.  Nolan. 

There  are  nearly  two  hundred  Irish  amongst  these  prisoners— 
the  famine-struck  Irish  of  the  Special  Commission ;  many  who 
have  not  a  word  of  English,  and  most  of  them  so  shattered  in 
constitution  by  mere  hunger  and  hardship,  that  all  the  deaths 
amongst  the  prisoners,  ever  since  we  embarked,  have  been  Irish. 
As  I  am  far  removed,  however,  from  their  part  of  the  ship,  I 
seldom  hear  their  voices,  except  when  they  sing  at  night  on  deck. 
And  such  singing  is  mournful  beyond  all  caoines,  coronachs,  and 
naniee.  What  a  fate  !  what  a  dreary  doom  has  been  spun  and 
woven  for  you,  my  countrymen  !  They  were  bom,  these  men,  to 
a  heritage  of  imquenched  hunger,  amongst  the  teeming  plenty  of 


JAIL  JOURNAL  171 

their  motherland — Shunted  like  noxious  beasts  from  all  shelter 
on  her  hospitable  bosom — driven  to  stay  their  gnawing  enemy 
with  what  certain  respectable  fed  men  call  their  "  property." 
And  so  now  they  are  traversing  the  deep  under  bayonet-points, 
to  be  shot  out  Uke  rubbish  on  a  bare  foreign  strand,  and  told  to 
seek  their  fortune  there  amongst  a  people  whose  very  language 
they  know  not.  Many  of  them,  I  beUeve,  being  without  families, 
are  glad  of  this  escape,  as  they  might  be  glad  of  any  escape  from 
the  circle  of  hunters  that  chased  them  for  Ufe  at  home.  But  then 
there  are  many  others  (boys  from  twelve  to  seventeen  years  of 
age,  and  some  of  them  very  handsome  bo5rs,  with  fine  open 
countenances,  and  a  laugh  so  clear  and  ringing)  whom  it  is  a  real 
pain  to  look  upon.  They  hardly  know  what  troops  of  fell  foes, 
with  quivers  full  of  arrows,  are  hunting  for  their  young  souls 
and  bodies  ;  they  hardly  know,  and — so  much  the  more  pity  for 
them — ^hardly  feel  it.  But  in  poor  frail  huts,  on  many  an  Irish 
hill-side,  their  fathers  and  mothers  dwell  with  poverty,  and  labour, 
and  sorrow,  and  mourn  for  their  lost  children,  with  a  mourning 
that  will  know  no  comfort  till  they  are  gathered  to  their  people 
in  the  chapel-yard.  For  indeed  these  convict  bo5rs  were  not  born 
of  the  rock  or  the  oak-tree — human  mothers  bore  them,  sang 
them  asleep  in  lowly  cradles,  wept  and  prayed  for  them.  But 
Irelemd  was  under  the  ameUoration  of  British  statesmen  in  those 
days,  getting  her  resources  developed  by  them  ;  and  so  the  sons 
of  those  woeful  Irish  mothers  were  rocked  and  suckled  for  the 
British  hulks,  to  be  ameliorated  amongst  London  burglars,  and 
reformed  by  the  swell-mob,  that  they  might  help  to  carry 
British  civilisation  to  distant  continents  and  isles. 

Thoughts  Uke  these  often  come  upon  me  when  I  hear  at  night, 
rising  from  the  ship's  forecastle,  some  Irish  air  that  carries  me 
back  to  old  days  when  I  heard  the  same  to  the  humming  accom- 
paniment of  the  spinning-wheel ;  and  then  I  curse,  oh !  how 
fervently,  the  British  Empire.  Empire  of  Hell !  when  will  thy 
cup  of  abominations  be  full  ?  But  I  always  check  myself  in  this 
cursing ;  for  there  is  small  comfort  in  unpacking  the  full  heart 
with  indignant  words.  Indignant  thoughts,  even,  must  be  stifled 
and  hushed  to  rest  for  the  time.  "  These  things  must  not  be 
thought  after  these  ways.    So,  it  will  make  us  mad." 

Sept.  15th. — ^A  poor  wretch  who  has  been  dying  for  months 


172  JAIL  JOURNAL 

died  outright  to-day  :  an  Irishman,  by  name  Brophy.  He  is 
the  seventh  prisoner  (exclusive  of  one  sailor  and  one  soldier) 
who  has  died  since  we  left  Bermuda. 

Sept.  lyth. — Within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  Cape  :  and  a 
steady  breeze  is  sending  us  along  at  eight  knots  an  hour :  we 
must  make  the  land  to-morrow  morning. 

So  this  five  months'  voyage  is  as  good  as  over.  It  has  been, 
everyone  says,  very  long  and  wearisome  ;  yet  to  me  it  has  been 
neither.  But  now  that  land  is  near,  with  new  scenes  and  cities  of 
articulate-speaking  men,  I  must  rouse  myself  from  my  blue-water 
dreaming,  and  gird  up  my  loins  to  meet  whatsoever  new  thing 
Africa  may  bring  forth.    Ghosts,  avaunt ! 

Sepi.  i8ih, — Before  sunrise  this  morning  I  was  awaked  by  three 
cheers  from  the  forecastle.  I  knew  Table  Mountain  must  be  in 
sight ;  so  I  jumped  out  of  bed  and  went  on  deck.  There,  right 
ahead  of  us,  the  curtain  of  mist  was  lazily  furUng  itself  up  from  a 
rough  mountainous  coast  not  two  miles  from  the  ship  :  we  could 
see  the  shaggy  copsewood  fringing  the  rocks,  and  close  upon  the 
beach  two  or  three  low  houses.  We  could  hear  the  surf  as  the 
long  swell  broke  heavily  upon  the  sand.     It  is  substantial  Africa. 

But  can  this  be  the  Cape  of  Storms.?  After  flying  along  for  a 
fortnight  under  a  strong  gale  that  never  failed  us  a  single  hour, 
we  find  ourselves  here,  off  the  terrible  Cape,  where  we  counted  on 
having  to  fight  our  way  into  port  through  hurricanes  ingruent 
from  all  points  of  heaven,  lying  motionless  on  the  water,  with  sails 
flapping  against  the  masts  in  a  breathless  calm.  And  well  for  us 
that  it  is  so  ;  for  we  came  close  into  the  shore  during  the  night, 
about  four  miles  too  far  north  :  that  is  to  say,  we  have  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  still  to  double  before  we  can  make  the  entrance  of 
False  Bay  :  that  is  to  say,  we  have  missed  the  very  thing  to  make 
sure  of  which  vessels  bound  for  the  Cape  always  sail  two  thousand 
miles  to  the  westward  of  their  direct  course.  And  the  wind 
almost  constantly  prevailing  on  this  coast  is  the  south-east,  with  a 
strong  current  setting  in  the  same  direction  :  and  so,  if  a  wind  stir 
to-day  and  do  not  run  us  ashore  (where  we  must  certainly  go  to 
pieces)  it  will  drive  us  far  to  the  north-west ;  and  after  being 
within  four  miles  of  our  port,  we  may  have  three  weeks'  navigation 
yet  before  we  come  within  actual  reach  of  it.  So  say  sea-going 
men.     But  luck  may  favour  us. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  173 

About  noon,  the  mountains  were  all  clear  ;  and  there,  sure 
enough,  is  the  unmistakable  platform  of  Table  Mountain  pre- 
dominating over  them  all.  Where  we  lie  here  we  see  no  land  but 
the  rugged  peninsula  which  divides  Table  Bay  from  False  Bay, 
the  outer  coast  of  which  seems  to  extend  about  thirty  miles.  The 
northern  part  of  this  peninsula  is  a  magnificent  mass  of  mountains ; 
and  straight  opposite  to  where  we  are  now  drifting,  the  mass  is 
cloven  through  by  a  narrow  inlet  called  Hout's  Bay,  where  the 
cliffs  seem  to  rise  sheer  out  of  deep  water  at  an  angle  that  would 
make  the  footing  of  a  goat  imsure — yet  in  that  very  inlet, 
as  I  hear,  round  the  skirts  of  those  grim  rocks,  are  some  of 
the  best  vineyards  in  the  colony.  I  thirst  for  the  juice  of 
these  African  grapes,  and  refuse  any  brandy  to-day,  out  of 
disgust. 

Mrs.  Nolan,  the  sergeant's  wife,  who  had  thought,  I  beUeve, 
that  the  captain  had  missed  his  way  and  sailed  into  unknown  seas 
beyond  the  world's  end,  is  in  great,  though  quiet  delight. 
She  says  Table  Mountain  is  for  all  the  world  Uke  Callan  (a 
mountain  in  Clare) — and  has  been  thanking  God  all  day  in  a 
low  voice. 

Caught  some  capital  fish,  and  dined  luxuriously,  getting 
drunk  afterwards  on  imaginary  Constantia  of  the  choicest 
vintage. 

Saw  in  the  afternoon  a  phenomenon  symptomatic  of  the  end  of 
a  convict  voyage,  viz.,  a  wonderfully  worn  pack  of  cards  floating 
alongside,  very  brown,  and  with  corners  all  rounded  off.  They 
had  been  thrown  overboard  :  this  day  their  long  service  is  at  an 
end  ;  and  if  one  could  ascertain  how  much  money  has  been  lost 
and  won  by  their  means,  within  these  five  months,  it  would  be  a 
curious  statistic  to  lay  "  before  ParUament."  Some  of  oiu: 
worthies,  too,  who  have  been  till  now  wearing  prison  apparel,  of 
fustian  or  corduroy,  have  been  taking  out  of  the  fold  to-day, 
and  tr5dng  on  an  astonishing  quantity  of  new  and  very  good 
clothes,  which  they  had  provided  at  Bermuda,  with  a  view  of 
entering  on  their  campaign  respectably  at  the  Cape.  In  fact, 
there  are  some  very  gentlemanly  London  thieves  and  swindlers 
here  :  several  of  them  have  better  coats  and  hats  than  I  have  ; 
so  that  I  will  not  be  the  most  "  respectable"  convict  landed  at 
the  Cape.    Now,  then,  worthy  householders  of  Africa,  look  to 


174 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


your  door-bolts  and  locks ;  hardware  of  that  sort  will  rise  in 
price  hereabouts  before  six  months  are  out.  Gentlemen  of 
Africa!  take  care  of  your  pockets.  Assuredly  it  is  a  gross 
outrage  upon  any  commimity  whatsoever  to  discharge  amongst 
them  such  a  cargo  of  iniquity  as  we  carry.  But  if  the  colonists, 
as  I  hear,  be  content  to  receive  the  consignment,  why,  let 
them  make  their  profit  by  it  as  best  they  can. 

Sept.  igth. — ^Hurrah !  hurrah !  Africa  has  brought  forth  a 
new  thing — a  right  noble  birth  this  time- — and  from  the  bottom 
of  my  heart  I  wish  her  joy. 


CHAPTER   XI 

Sept.  igth,  1849. — On  board  the  Neptune.  Simon's  Bay,  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  Last  night  I  wrote  down  my  congratulations  to 
Africa,  and  drank  her  health  with  enthusiasm. 

The  case  is  this — ^The  colonists  here  are  not  content,  and  never 
were  content,  that  their  country  should  be  made  a  penal  settle- 
ment. The  assumption  that  they  were  so  was  a  lying  pretence  of 
the  EngUsh  newspapers,  and  a  fraud  of  Earl  Grey,  the  Colonial 
Minister.  This  "  statesman  "  had  publicly  declared,  two  years 
ago,  that  no  colony,  not  heretofore  a  penal  one,  should  be  made 
a  receptacle  for  convicts  without  its  own  consent ;  on  which 
promise  the  colonists  here,  Uke  simple  fools,  had  been  relying ; 
but  the  statesman  afterwards,  by  the  clandestine  method  of  an 
"  Order  in  Council,"  just  made  the  Cape  a  penal  colony,  and  let 
the  honest  inhabitants  know  of  it  after  he  had  settled  everything 
and  chartered  a  ship  to  carry  the  first  cargo  of  felony  to  their 
shores.  So,  during  the  whole  of  our  five  months'  voyage,  a  most 
vehement  excitement  has  been  growing  and  spreading  all  over 
South  Africa.  The  people  have  forced  the  Legislative  Council  to 
dissolve  itself — the  Governor,  Sir  Harry  Smith,  was  compelled  a 
month  ago  to  promise  that  when  the  Neptune  should  arrive,  he 
would  not  suffer  one  convict  to  land  ;  and  the  colonists  themselves, 
tradesmen,  merchants,  butchers,  bakers,  inn-keepers  and  all, 
have  combined  to  a  man  in  an  universal  "  Anti-Convict  Associa- 
tion," vowing  that  they  will  neither  employ  any  convict,  sell  any- 
thing to  any  convict,  give  a  convict  a  place  to  lay  his  head,  or 
deal  with,  countenance,  or  speak  to,  any  traitor  who  may  so  com- 
fort or  abet  a  convict,  from  the  governor  down  to  the  black  cooUes 
and  boatmen.  As  we  were  so  long  at  sea,  the  excitement  and 
effective  organisation  had  time  to  grow  strong — newspapers, 
public  meetings,  pulpits,  had  been  loud  and  furious ;  and  so, 
when  we,  all  unconscious,  sailed  up  False  Bay  to-day,  the  Cape 
was  fully  ready  for  us.  Before  we  macje  the  harbour  of  Simon's 
Bay  (which  is  a  small  basin  inside  False  Bay,  about  twenty 

175 


176  JAIL  JOURNAL 

miles  from  Capetown),  the  Neptune  was  known  by  her  signals, 
and  a  boat  from  the  shore  hailed  us.  It  was  the  harbour-master 
of  Simon's  Bay  bringing  Dr.  Dees  a  note  from  the  governor, 
ordering  him  to  cast  anchor  in  the  bay,  and  neither  to  go  ashore 
himself  nor  suffer  any  commimication  between  the  ship  and  the 
shore  till  further  orders.  The  same  gentleman  brought  a  bundle 
of  Cape  newspapers,  that  we  might  see  the  doings  of  the  "  Anti- 
Convict  Association,"  and  how  impossible  it  is  for  the  cargo  of 
felony  to  be  unloaded  here.  Doctor  Dees  sends  his  despatches 
to  the  governor. 

The  harbour-master  also  handed  me  a  letter  from ; 

and  a  gentleman' who  came  off  with  him,  introduced  himself  to  me 
as  Dr.  Stewart,  "  health-officer  "  of  the  port ;  gave  me  some  news- 
papers which  he  had  brought  for  me,  and  told  me,  that  so  far  as  I 
am  concerned  there  is  no  objection  to  my  landing  on  the  part  of 
the  people — that  they  understand  quite  well  how  I  happen  to  be 
here,  that  none  of  this  agitation,  "  of  course,"  has  reference  to  me 
and  so  forth — adding  somewhat  of  an  apologetic  nature  about  the 
popular  violence.  I  told  him  I  was  deUghted  to  find  the  colonists 
so  determined  to  resist  the  abominable  outrage  attempted  by 
"  Government  " — that  they  were  completely  in  the  right,  and 
hoped  they  would  stand  out  to  the  last  extremity — that  as  to  my- 
self, though  everybody  indeed  knew  I  was  no  felon,  yet  I  could 
not  expect  the  people  here  to  make  distinctions  in  my  favour : 
they  were  engaged  in  a  great  struggle,  involving  the  very  existence 
of  their  society,  and  could  not  afford  to  attend  to  particular  ex- 
ceptions. He  seemed  surprised  at  my  warmth  ;  but  I  was  wiUing 
to  let  the  first  Cape  man  who  spoke  to  me,  know  what  I  think  of 
the  business. 

The  harbour-master  informs  me  that  every  one  at  the  Cape, 
knowing  we  had  left  Bermuda  five  months  ago,  had  concluded  that 
the  ship  must  have  gone  down  with  all  hands,  and  that  so  the 
Colony  would  be  saved  the  struggle  it  has  been  preparing  for.  In 
fact,  several  clergymen  have  been  praying  to  God  in  their  pulpits, 
to  avert  the  infliction,  and,  complacently  remarking  in  their  sermon 
upon  the  presumed  loss  of  the  Neptune,  with  every  soul  on  board, 
as  one  of  the  most  special  Providences  yet  recorded.  The  same 
harbour-master  tells  me  that  about  a  week  since,  the  Swift,  a 
man-of-war  brig,  touched  here  and  took  in  provisions,  on  her  way 


JAIL  JOURNAL  ,  177 

to  Sydney,  having  on  board  O'Brien,  Meagher,  O'Donoghue  and 
MacManus — ^that  he  was  the  only  person  who  saw  them,  and  that 
the  Swi\t  remained  but  one  day  and  part  of  the  next. 

Martin  and  O'Doherty  were  not  on  board  :  they,  I  presume, 
were  stowed  away  in  a  common  convict-ship.  Being  proprietors 
of  newspapers,  the  "  Government "  wish  to  visit  them  with  the 
uttermost  disgrace  of  felony.  This  is  because  an  honest  man, 
armed  with  a  newspaper,  is  the  most  dangerous  enemy  the  persons 
called  Government  can  have  in  Ireland  at  present ;  therefore, 
they  do  us  the  honour  to  dishonour  us  as  far  as  they  are  able. 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  we  got  into  the  land-locked  basin 
called  Simon's  Bay  ;  it  seems  to  be  surrounded  by  steep  gloomy 
mountains ;  about  a  dozen  large  ships  are  in  the  bay,  and  the 
lights  of  the  town  appear  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile. — a  quarter 
of  a  mile,  yet  as  far  off  as  the  Aurora  Borealis :  for  it 
seems  pretty  certain  that  I  shall  never  set  foot  upon  African 
ground. 

This  is  assuredly,  in  one  point  of  view,  a  great  disappointment 
to  me  :  no  man  can  guess  what  our  ultimate  destination  may  be  : 
probably  AustraUa  ;  and  of  AustraUa  I  have  ever  felt  the  utmost 
abhorrence.  It  was  always  a  matter  of  wonder  to  me  that  free 
emigrants  with  their  families — people  who  might  go  if  they  liked 
to  Dahomey  or  Whidah,  or  Nova  Zembla,  or  Tierra  del  Fuego, 
went  voluntarily  to  settle  in  a  penal  colony  and  adopt  it  for  their 
country.  To  Uve  among  natural  unsophisticated  savages,  though 
it  were  in  Labrador  or  the  Sahara,  would  be  tolerable  ;  but  to 
dwell  and  rear  one's  children  amongst  savages  who  are  outcasts 
of  civilisation,  savages  ^^-civiUsed — savages  imiting  more  than 
the  brutaUty  of  Timbuctoo  with  all  the  loathsome  corruptions  of 
London,  is  a  nauseous  and  horrid  idea.  Yet  I  have  inured  myself 
to  a  wonderful  indifference,  and  actually  feel  small  concern  about 
the  whole  matter.  I  am  right  well  content  that  I  so  peremptorily 
forbade  my  own  people  to  come  out  to  the  Cape  to  njeet  me  for 
the  present ;  and  so  long  as  it  is  but  myself  I  have  to  care  for, 
and  my  health  stands  firm,  I  find  that  I  reck  but  Uttle  to  what 
point  of  the  compass  this  ominous  ship  shall  next  direct  her 
bowsprit.  Most  strangely  I  feel  this  night  a  sort  of  jo5rful  sensa- 
tion— a  pleasing  sub-excitement — a  warm  glow  in  the  region  of 
the  praecordia,  that  makes  my  blood  to  tingle.  W^  have  ju§t 
1% 


178  JAIL  JOURNAL 

fallen  in  here  upon  a  very  pleasant  conjuncture  in  British 
colonial  affairs ;  and  if  matters  be,  indeed,  as  I  divine  they 
are,  we  are  going  to  see  a  handsome  piece  of  work. 

Plainly,  the  Governor  of  the  Cape  cannot  take  it  upon  him  to 
send  the  ship  away- — certainly  not  to  another  colony — without 
orders  from  England ;  and  we  may  lie  here  in  a  kind  of  moral 
quarantine  for  six  months,  before  any  decisive  order  arrives. 
Then  there  are  many  guesses,  all  equally  probable,  what  that 
order  will  be  :  whether  we  are  to  be  forwarded  to  AustraUa, 
brought  back  to  Bermuda,  summoned  to  the  Thames,  forced  in 
upon  the  Cape,  or  consigned  to  some  unheard-of  country  in  the 
Pacific,  or  I  know  not  where. 

It  is  certain  that  the  men  in  Downing  Street  will,  with  a  very 
bad  grace,  yield  to  the  Cape  demcmds.  I  think  they  can  hardly 
make  up  their  minds  to  do  it  at  all ;  the  first  impulse  pi  English- 
men, in  such  cases,  is  always  to  bully.  Yet,  if  they  force  this 
matter,  it  will  be  worse  for  the  poor  prisoners  themselves,  who  are 
Uke  to  be  dealt  with  on  the  footing  of  wolves  or  Caflfirs.  About  the 
whole  affair  there  is  an  utter  and  glorious  uncertainty.  The  people, 
I  trust,  are  in  no  uncertainty  about  their  course  of  procedure. 

The  convicts  do  not  yet  know  how  the  land  lies,  and  are  still 
making  sure  of  going  ashore  to-morrow  ;  but  the  "  authorities  "  of 
the  ship  are  looking  blank  at  the  thought  of  being  imprisoned 
here,  they  know  not  how  long.  As  for  Dr.  Dees,  he  is  in  pitiable 
consternation.  The  anxieties  of  his  long  voyage,  and  this  unlooked- 
for  reception,  operating  on  a  weak  constitution  and  nervous 
temperament,  threaten  to  make  an  invalid  of  him.  He  expected 
to  meet  here  his  brother,  who  is  surgeon  in  Admiral  Reynolds's 
ship ;  but  j  ust  three  days  before  we  arrived,  the  admiral  was 
replaced  by  a  commodore,  and  his  ship  sailed  for  Plate  River.  On 
the  whole,  the  poor  creature  seems  quite  distracted  to-night,  and 
can  hardly  speak  without  weeping.  That  he,  a  British  officer, 
executing  the  orders  of  his  sovereign,  should  be  regarded,  on  his 
arrival  at  a  British  colony,  as  if  he  were  the  captain  of  a  Malay 
pirate  ship  !     So  we  all  have  our  own  peculiar  grievances. 

Down  plunges   the   Neptune's   bow  anchor  with   its  rattling 

chain  cable,  making  the  old  ship  quiver.    Where  next,  then — in 

Moreton  Bay  or  Port  Philip,  at  the  Falkland  Isles,  at  Blackwall, 

j^rqnce.mpreund^r. the  Bermuda  cedar  boscages — rwill.that  anchor 


JAIL  JOURNAL  179 

make  its  next  |dunge  ?  Gentlemen  of  Downing  Street,  here 
is  a  little  matter  for  you  to  adjust,  with  your  red  tape,  or  other 
appliances.  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  the  onus  is  upon 
you ;  therefore  I  will  quietly  take  a  smoke,  and  wish  you  a 
difficult  deliverance. 

So  we  cast  anchor,  and  wish  for  the  day. 

20th. — ^The  sun  rose  to-day,  quite  as  usual,  without  any 
apparent  anxiety  upon  his  countenance — "  all  unconcerned  with 
our  unrest  " — and  showed  us  where  the  ship  is  riding.  Simon's 
Bay  is  a  cove,  or  recess,  on  the  west  side  of  the  great  False  Bay, 
enclosed  by  rugged  hills,  from  800  to  1,400  feet  in  height ;  and 
the  town,  with  its  dockyard  building,  is  built  round  the  head  of 
the  bay,  on  the  steep  face  of  the  hill,  like  a  small  Genoa.  At  one 
end  of  the  town  a  deep  ravine  brings  down  a  strea,m  from  the 
mountains,  and  close  to  its  mouth  stand  a  few  trees.  Several 
handsome  houses,  hotels,  a  good  many  shops,  a  church,  a  small 
barrack,  a  range  of  navy  store-houses,  make  up  the  whole  town  ; 
and  three  or  four  gardens  have  been  made  to  climb  up  the  abrupt 
accUvity  behind,  though  for  some  of  them  the  soil  must  have 
been  carried  up,  not  in  carts,  but  in  hods.  There  is  about  as  much 
pasture  near  the  water  edge  as  might  feed  three  cows.  The  trees 
are  now  in  full  leaf,  and  the  grass,  and  the  gardens,  and  the  heath 
upon  the  mountains  are  all  as  green  as  emerald.  The  hills  are 
everywhere  tufted  with  low  copse,  the  aborescent  heaths  of  the 
Cape,  and  in  some  places  are  purple  already  with  the  wild  gerani- 
ums, that  make  a  South  African  wilderness  to  blossom  like  the 
rose.  To  the  north,  rising  over  all  the  rest,  peeps  one  shoulder 
of  Table  Mountain,  and  on  the  eastern  side  of  False  Bay  (about 
fifteen  miles  off),  is  a  vast  range  of  high  and  shaggy  mountains, 
with  splintered  peaks  and  naked  precipices.  Along  the  head  of 
False  Bay  Ues  a  level  tract  of  sandy-looking  land ;  and  beyond 
that,  ridge  rising  over  ridge,  the  far-off  mountains  of  the  interior, 
some  of  them  with  snow  yet  lying  on  their  rugged  and  fantastic 
summits. 

Simonstown  is  in  evident  excitement  to-day  ;  there  is  a  public 
meeting,  attended  by  a  good  many  Capetown  members  of  the 
"  Anti-Convict  Association,"  who  instantly  posted  down  to  hold  a 
solemn  council  of  war,  in  full  view  of  the  enemy.  In  Capetown 
itself,  a  great  gong  they  have  in  the  town-hall  was  last  night 


i8o  JAIL  JOURNAL 

made  to  sound  in  funereal  wise  (one  beat  in  every  half-minute), 
by  order  of  the  municipal  authorities  of  the  city  ;  and  this  dismal 
tolUng  is  to  go  on,  day  and  night,  while  the  Neptune  remains 
within  the  limits  of  the  colony.  Simultaneous  meetings  are  in 
all  districts  ;  orators  roaring,  and  clergymen  cursing  louder  than 
ever.  The  entire  community  seems  to  have  but  one  thought, 
one  purpose — the  colony  is  bristling  itself  up  into  one  resolute, 
strong-bristhng  porcupine  to  repel  the  touch  of  this  felonious 
gang.     More  Power  ! 

We  shall  not  hear  to-day  the  decrees  of  the  anti-convicts  ;  but 
every  one  tells  us  there  is  absolute  unanimity ;  so  that  I  can 
guess  there  will  be  but  little  moderation. 

Dr.  Dees  has  received,  this  evening,  a  note  from  the  governor 
acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  despatches,  but  intimating  that 
he  does  not  intend,  for  all  the  despatches,  to  relieve  the  doctor  of 
his  charge,  nor  to  allow  any  one  on  board  the  Neptune  to  come 
ashore  ;  that  the  doctor  is  therefore  to  consider  himself  under 
the  orders  of  the  commodore — who  has  his  frigate  lying  at 
anchor  beside  us,  and  has  supreme  command  over  everything 
that  is  afloat  in  these  waters — and  to  wait  for  further  despatches 
from  England. 

•zist. — Everything  goes  on  favourably.  The  meeting  yesterday 
resolved  on  applying  the  anti-convict  "  pledge  "  rigorously.  The 
pledge  is  against  selling  anything  to  anybody  on  board  the  Nep- 
tune, or  to  anybody  who  will  so  deal,  or  to  any  one  who  will  assist 
any  convicted  felon  to  land,  or  enable  him  to  live  when  landed — 
or  to  the  government,  or  anybody  for  the  government,  so  long  as 
the  Neptune  even  remains  afloat  within  the  waters  of  the  colony. 
All  the  Simonstown  shopkeepers  were  made  to  sign  this  pledge  on 
the  spot,  though  sore  against  their  will ;  for  this  little  town  de- 
pends wholly  on  the  dockyard  and  the  custom  of  men-of-war's 
men.  Watch  has  been  set  on  shore  (men  with  telescopes,  c£illed 
Committee  of  Vigilance)  to  keep  a  constant  eye  upon  the  Neptune 
and  the  boats  to  and  fro — also,  on  the  Simonstown  shopkeepers, 
who  need  watching  too.  The  commodore,  indeed,  yesterday  sent 
us  fresh  beef  for  all  hands,  but  a  message  with  it  that  he  could 
not  hope  to  supply  us  for  more  than  a  day  or  two,  as,  if  found  out, 
he  would  get  no  more  beef  for  himself  and  his  crew.  Indeed,  he 
"  threw  in  "  this  supply  by  stratagem,  as  they  do  for  blockaded 


jAtL  JOURNAL  i8i 

towns — ordering  two  days'  beef  at  once  for  his  own  ship,  then 
slipping  half  of  it  over  his  deck  into  a  boat  on  the  side  furthest 
from  the  town,  and  so  to  the  Neptune. 

The  road  to  Capetown  Ues  close  along  the  beach,  winding  round 
the  base  of  the  mountains,  being,  in  fact,  the  sea-sand  moistened 
and  hardened  by  the  tide.  Along  this  road  there  is  now  a  con- 
tinual posting,  riding,  and  running.  Two  or  three  military  persons 
one  being  Quarter-master  General,  and  two  medical  officers,  came 
on  board  the  Neptune  to-day,  sent  by  the  governor,  to  inspect. 
After  they  had  examined  the  fore  part  of  the  ship,  the  state  of  the 
sick,  and  so  forth,  Dr.,  Dees  came  to  me,  saying  the  inspecting- 
ofiicers  wished  to  see  me.  Just  as  I  was  answering  their  questions 
about  my  health.  Dr.  Dees,  who  stood  close  by  me,  suddenly  fell 
down,  moaning  and  writhing  in  a  frightful  manner. 

I  thought  it  was  a  fit  of  epilepsy  ;  but  six  hours  have  gone  by, 
and  he  has  never  come  to  his  senses,  nor  ceased  from  convulsive 
movements  of  the  limbs.  I  fear  the  poor  fellow  will  die.  Lord 
Grey's  colonial  experiment  has  destroyed  him  at  any  rate. 

The'excitement  on  shore  seems  to  increase  every  hour.  A  cart 
of  bread,  on  its  way  from  Capetown  for  the  supply  of  the  navy, 
was  stopped  by  a  mob  outside  that  town,  and  the  governor  was 
obliged  to  send  with  it  an  escort  of  troops. 

I  have  got  Cape  newspapers  for  the  last  two  months,  and  have 
been  reading  the  proceedings  of  the  various  anti-convict  associa- 
tions within  that  time.  In  the  remote  parts  of  the  colony  the 
indignation  and  firm  resolution  of  resistance  are,  if  possible,  more 
powerful  and  universal  than  even  at  Capetown.  The  Dutch  in- 
habitants, who  are  three  to  one,  are  more  desperately  enraged 
than  the  English,  and  seem  perfectly  wilHng  to  resist  by  arms  ; 
indeed,  they  are  so  thoroughly  disaffected  to  the  British  Govern- 
ment that  they  desire  nothing  better  than  a  fair  pretext  for  a 
quarrel.  Both  races,  however,  are  unanimous  upon  this  :  the 
"  pledge  "  has  been  adopted  at  all  meetings  ;  and  nobody  who 
travels  through  the  country  is  to  get  provisions  or  lodgings  for 
his  money,  or  pasture  for  his  bullocks,  without  producing  a 
certificate  in  Dutch  and  English  from  the  Anti-Convict  Associa- 
tion of  his  own  district  that  he  is  a  pledged  man — the  pledge 
itself  being  printed  in  both  languages  on  the  back  of  the  certifi- 
cate.   In  some  regions  exclusively  Dutch,  the  farmers  flocked  to 


i82  jAtL  JOURNAL 

the  meetings  from  a  distance  of  forty  and  fifty  miles  across 
momitains  and  Karroos,  as  they  call  the  barren  deserts  of  this 
country — "  These  simple  people,"  says  the  newspaper,  "  did  not 
know  what  a  convict  was — had  never  heard  of  Earl  Grey,  or  a 
Colonial  Office,  or  Downing  Street " — but  when  the  matter  was 
explained  to  them,  how  that  a  shipload  of  convicted  criminals, 
Bandieten,  from  England  and  Ireland  were  sent  by  Graaf  Grey 
to  be  let  loose  upon  their  country,  and  when  the  orators  enlarged 
upon  the  circumstances  and  way  of  Uving  of  these  colonists, 
dwelling  on  lonely  farms,  the  men  often  from  home  for  weeks 
together — often  traversing  unfrequented  plains  and  mountain 
passes  with  their  bullock-waggons  as  they  carry  their  produce  to 
the  seaports — and  when  they  reminded  them  that  heretofore 
they  have  never  needed  lock  or  bar  by  day  or  night,  nor  felt  a 
moment's  uneasiness  when  absent  from  their  families — and  then 
pictured  the  horrors  of  this  bandit  invasion,  and  told  them 
terrific  stories  of  the  atrocities  of  Austrahan  bush-rangers,  until 
their  imaginations  were  excited  to  the  utmost,  and  they  thought 
of  Lord  Grey's  "  exiles  "  as  a  band  of  preternatural  desperadoes, 
coming  with  an  express  mission  to  rob,  ravish,  bum,  and  murder — 
Donner  en  hlitzen  !  the  worthy  farmers,  in  hot  Dutch  wrath,  not 
only  adopted  the  pledge  by  acclamation,  and  signed  it  on  the 
spot,  but  swore,  gutturally,  Ufting  their  hands  to  heaven,  that 
they  never  would  submit  to  this  wrong — would  renounce  their 
allegiance  rather,  and  take  up  their  rifles  to  repel  the  felon  inva- 
sion with  more  hearty  goodwill  than  ever  they  had  marched 
against  Caifirs.  And  the  stout  Boers  are  like  to  be  as 
good  as  their  word :  I  trust  they  are — one  would  gladly 
fall  in  upon  some  comer  of  the  world  where  men  who 
threaten  loud  have  some  notion  of  putting  their  threats  into 
execution. 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  Dutch  farmeis  here  are  all  well- 
armed,  all  practised  shots — never  heard  of  a  "  Disarming  Act," 
and  having  been  at  various  times  organised  in  militia  corps 
against  the  Caffirs,  have  some  touch  of  mihtary  discipline,  and  a 
wholesome  taste  for  powder  and  ball.  Nobody  ever  explained  to 
them  that  they  herein  commit  a  crime,  and  that  he  who  commits 
a  crime  gives  strength  to  the  enemy. 

In  many  districts,  after  the  public  meetings,  they  went  straight 


JAIL  JOURNAL  183 

to  their  places  of  wotship,  heard  an  Anti-Convict  sermon,  and 
prayed  that  the  judgments  which  threaten  the  land  might  be 
averted.  After  describing  one  meeting  of  this  sort,  the  newspaper 
breaks  forth — "  And  thus  ended  the  i8th  of  August.  May  it 
long  be  remembered  in  Zwartland.  May  fathers  at  their  rising  up 
and  at  their  lying  down,  etc.,  etc."  Indeed,  I  have  not  seen  more 
heroic  phraseology  anywhere,  not  even  in  the  Nation,  than  these 
newspapers  supply.  They  uniformly  denounce  the  whole  scheme 
as  a  deliberate  fraud  of  Earl  Grey  (which  it  is),  and  charge  him 
with  direct  Ijdng  throughout.  They  say  if  the  high-wrought 
civiUsation  of  Britain  breeds  such  a  mass  of  crime,  Britain  ought 
to  deal  with  her  criminals  herself,  and  not  turn  colonies  which 
were  established  and  peopled  with  quite  other  views  and  other 
hopes,  into  sinks  or  common  sewers  of  felony — they  say  the  Cape, 
hke  every  other  community,  has  its  own  delinquents  to  keep  in 
order,  and  can  neither  afford  to  take  charge  of  imported  scoundrel- 
ism,  nor  bear  to  inoculate  its  society  with  fresh  varieties  of 
villainy' — and  surely  in  all  this  they  say  only  what  is  right  and 
reasonable.  The  British  Government  claim  to  be  entitled  to 
palm  some  of  their  convict  rascaUty  upon  the  Cape,  because  they 
supplied  troops  to  save  the  Cape  from  Caffirs — ^but,  say  these 
newspapers,  you  did  this  to  uphold  British  supremacy  in  Southern 
Africa,  not  to  protect  our  households — and  though  it  were  not 
so,  still  we  say,  take  your  troops,  take  your  ships :  we  will 
defend  ourselves  from  the  Caffirs  ;  at  the  very  worst,  we  prefer 
Caffirs  to  convicts. 

Was  there  ever,  since  the  beginning  of  the  world,  a  juster  cause 
than  these  colonists  have  now,  to  stir  their  blood  ? 

But  the  agitation  by  no  means  confines  itself  now  to  the  anti- 
convict  question.  On  every  side  a  cry  is  rising  for  a  representative 
government,  with  control  over  supphes — they  will  be  ruled  no 
longer  by  red-tape  puppies  in  Downing  Street,  and  a  British 
legislative  coimcil  at  the  Cape.  Here  is  a  resolution  passed  at  a 
meeting  in  Worcester  district,  on  the  nth  August — (Mr.  Petrus 
Jacobus  de  Vos,  in  the  chair) — "  That  the  system  by  which  the 
colony  is  at  present  governed  is  arbitrary  and  unjust  in  its  nature, 
and  that  a  more  liberal  system  of  government  ought  to  be  sub- 
stituted. Further,  that  the  present  legislature  has  become  im* 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  colony,  and  ought  to  be  superseded 


i84  U^I^  JOURNAL 

by  a  representative  constitution."  Some  similar  tcBolutlon  li 
now  passed  at  every  meeting. 

In  the  meantime  the  "  government "  here  is  completely 
paralysed  :  the  members  of  the  legislative  council  have  resigned  : 
the  executive  council  never  meets  ;  and  the  Colony  is  virtually 
without  any  government  at  all.  The  people  are  quietly  but 
effectually  taking  all  affairs  into  their  own  hands  :  all  the  banks 
and  insurance  offices  have  given  notices  that  they  will  have  no 
dealings  with  anybody  who  is  not  pledged,  or  who  may  supply 
the  government  in  any  manner,  until  after  the  Order  in  Council, 
making  the  Cape  a  penal  colony,  shall  have  been  cancelled  :  and 
Sir  Harry  Smith,  to  "  re-estabUsh  confidence,"  has  taken  a 
questionable  step — proclaimed  that  he  is  about  to  issue  a  govern- 
ment paper  currency,  to  be  advanced  on  such  security  as  "  a  board 
of  officers  "  shall  approve,  and  to  be  exchangeable  for  taxes. 

All  this  I  have  cuUed  out  of  the  newspapers  :  the  agitation 
seems  to  have  gone  forward  with  still  increasing  violence  till  the 
day  the  Neptune  sailed  into  port :  and  matters  are  now  growing 
worse  (or  better)  every  day. 

22nd. — No  more  fresh  meat.  The  "  Committee  of  Vigilance  " 
found  out  the  commodore's  maiioeuvre,  and  now  the  people  refuse 
to  supply  meat,  or  anything  else,  to  the  commodore  himself  or  to 
any  ship  of  the  squadron — or  any  branch  of  the  naval  depart- 
ment. There  are  four  ships  of  war  lying  here,  with  sLbout  nine 
himdred  men,  and  they  are  all  reduced  to  salt  rations  as  well  as 
we.  By  good  luck  there  is  great  abundance  of  excellent  fish  in 
this  bay  :  and  one  of  the  frigate's  boats  has  just  drawn  a  noble 
draught  of  them.  So  we  are  supplied  with  fresh  fish  for 
to-morrow. 

The  Association  at  Capetown  are  now  directing  their  whole 
energies  to  one  point,  to  coerce  the  governor,  by  absolute  starva- 
tion of  the  public  services,  to  send  the  Neptune  at  once,  some- 
where, anywhere,  out  of  the  waters  of  the  colony.  They  are 
applying  the  non-intercourse  pledge  in  all  its  force.  Contractors 
for  the  supply  of  all  government  departments  have  as  one  man 
dechned  to  fulfil  their  contracts,  preferring  to  forfeit  the  penalty 
in  their  bonds.  Government  has  advertised  for  new  tenders  (by 
big  painted  placards,  for  no  printer  will  print  for  a  convict 
government) — not  one  tender  sent  in. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  185 

Even  at  Simonstown  the  people  are  compelled  to  enforce  the 
pledge.  The  Neptune's  steward  went  ashore  to-day,  by  a 
circuitous  route,  going  first  to  the  Minerva,  an  East  Indiaman 
l5dng  near  us,  then  to  the  shore  in  the  Minerva's  boat.  He  went  to 
butcher's  shop  ;  asked  for  mutton  ;  the  boy  in  attendance  said  he 
would  sell  him  two  pounds  :  steward  said  he  wanted  a  leg  of 
mutton  ;  boy  did  not  know  ;  would  call  his  master.  The  master 
came,  and  the  steward  pretended  to  fall  into  a  violent  passion. 
He  was  the  steward,  he  said,  of  the  Minerva  ;  and  were  his  cabin 
passengers,  ladies  and  gentlemen  from  Madras,  to  be  starved 
because  a  cargo  of  damned  rascally  convicts  were  lying  in  the 
bay  ?  For  all  his  passion,  the  butcher  put  him  to  a  strict 
cross-examination,  to  make  sure  that  he  did  not  belong  to- 
the  Neptune ;  and  eventually  the  steward  carried  off  the  leg 
of  mutton. 

This  is  all,  perhaps,  a  rather  serious  business,  and  likely 
to  be  more  serious  to  those  whom  it  may  concern ;  but 
there  is  much  excellent  amusement  in  it,  I  laugh  over  the 
newspapers  till  tears  stand  in  my  eyes.  I  laugh  on  the 
poop  at  every  fresh  piece  of  news  that  comes  on  board  as 
the  agitation  develops  itself ;  and  sometimes  I  laugh  for 
half-an-hour  in  my  bed. 

2^th.- — Nothing  but  fish  to  eat  yet ;  but  I  hear  the  commodore 
has  resolved  to  ride  on  forays  by  night,  and  drive  a  creaghi 
from  the  farms.  The  governor  takes  no  notice  of  the 
Neptune  now  at  all.  The  doctor  still  very  ill,  in  a  state 
of  constant  nervous  excitement,  with  occasional  violent 
paroxysms. 

2Sth. — ^There  is  a  dismasted  ship  Ijdng  in  the  Bay — the  old 
frigate  Seringapatam ;  and  to  her,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
of  the  prisoners  were  transferred  yesterday  evening,  which 
must  certainly  give  much  more  air  and  room  to  those  who 
remain.    We  seem  to  be  preparing  to  spend  the  summer  here. 

To-day  the  poor  doctor  was  removed  in  one  of  the  frigate's 
boats,  stretched  upon  his  bed,  to  the  naval  hospital  on  shore. 
I  believe  he  will  never  leave  it. 

Our  old  skipper  went  ashore  to-day,  taking  a  brace  of  pistols 
with  him.  He  found  the  people  very  quietly  disposed  ;  only  they 
would  "  hold  no  intercourse  "  with  him — ^he  walked  into  several 


i86 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


shops,  tried  to  buy  a  tobacco  pipe,  a  glass  for  his  watch,  a  fresh 
roll  of  bread,  but  in  vain  ;  they  would  hold  no  intercourse.  He 
went  into  the  house  of  a  poor  woman,  who  keeps  a  small  bakery 
and  confectionery  shop,  and  who  has  hitherto  Uved  by  suppl3dng 
the  men-of-war  with  fresh  breakfast  bread.  She  told  him,  with 
tears,  that  she  was  utterly  ruined — that  the  farmers  and  millers 
had  ceased  sending  flour  or  grain  to  Simonstown,  that  but  one 
baker  could  now  keep  his  oven  hot,  and  was  restricted  to  selling 
at  each  house  what  would  feed  its  known  inmates  only.  While 
they  talked,  the  baker's  cart  came  up  ;  the  captain  begged  her,  as 
she  was  buying  for  herself,  to  get  two  loaves  more,  and  sell  them 
to  him  ;  but  she  protested,  in  the  greatest  agitation,  that  if  she 
even  asked  for  such  a  thing,  she  would  get  no  more  bread  for 
herself.  He  came  on  board  again,  declaring  he  had  never  met 
with  such  fools  in  his  life  ;  our  skipper  belongs  apparently  to  that 
numerous  class  of  persons  who  cannot  understand  how  sane  men, 
Britons  too,  professing  Christianity,  and  living  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  can  bring  themselves,  on  mere  pubUc  grounds,  to  refuse 
to  turn  a  fenny.  He  is  an  old  East  India  captain,  and  knows  a 
sure  way,  he  tells  me,  to  bring  these  people  to  reason — ^namely, 
to  give  "  three  dozen  all  round  "  to  the  colonists,  and  a  double 
allowance  to  the  clergy. 

26^A. — ^The  Commodore  has  driven  a  prey  of  bullocks  ;  he  sent 
out  a  boat's  crew  last  night ;  and  before  morning  they  drove  into 
Simonstown  a  herd  of  cattle  ;  a  fife  and  drum  headed  the  pro- 
cession, playing  one  of  the  jolly  airs  to  which  seamen  are  accus- 
tomed to  "  walk  away "  when  they  raise  a  topgallant-mast. 
The  "  Committee  of  Vigilance,"  keeping  vigil  all  night  upon  a 
balcony,  were  astounded.  The  commodore,  of  course,  pays  for 
the  cattle,  and  herein  differs  from  a  stark  moss-trooper.  An 
officer  who  was  on  board  to-day  tells  me  the  sailors  of  the  frigate 
are  growing  highly  excited  against  the  rebellious  colonists,  and 
that  the  gunner's  mate  being  on  shore  yesterday  evening,  and 
hearing  a  man  talking  on  the  street  about  the  infamous  govern- 
ment design  of  sending  convicts  among  them  to  corrupt  their 
morals,  and  violate  their  daughters,  came  up  to  the  indignant 
patriot,  "  Ah  !  you  be  hanged  ;  you're  one  of  the  cursed  anti- 
convict  lubbers,"  said  he,  and  he  gave  the  man  a  blow  between 
the  eyes  that  felled  him  where  he  stood. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  187 

There  is  no  relaxation  of  the  blockade,  however,  shopkeepers 
here  will  absolutely  sell  nothing  to  anybody  belonging  to  the 
ships  of  war  or  the  Neptune.  Simonstown,  indeed,  must  go  to 
ruin,  if  the  struggle  last  long,  and  the  inhabitants  are  com- 
plaining bitterly  ;  but  pubUc  opinion  is  inexorable. 


CHAPTER    XII 

2yth  Sept — On  hoard  the  "Neptune,"  Simon's  Say. — ^The 
Captain  went  up  yesterday  to  Capetown,  and  returned  this 
evening,  bringing  me  three  letters  from  home,  the  reading 
whereof  drove  clear  out  of  my  head,  for  an  hour  or  two, 
convicts  and  anti-convicts,  the  Cape,  the  commodore,  the 
governor  and  all. 

The  captain  came  from  Capetown  in  an  omnibus,  which  con- 
tained two  gentlemen  coming  down  to  reUeve  the  "  Committee  of 
Vigilance  "  on  the  balcony,  and  take  their  turn  with  the  telescopes. 
They  did  not  know  who  their  fellow-traveller  was,  and  their  talk 
was  all  of  the  Neptune  and  the  felons.  When  he  told  them  he  had 
been  at  Simonstown,  and  had  seen  the  ship,  they  urged  him  with 
questions — had  he  seen  me,  J.  Mitchel  ?- — had  he  heard  that  I 
had  declared  the  colonists  were  right,  and  ought  to  persevere  ? 
Was  it  true  that  I  walked  about  on  the  poop,  where  the  captain 
walks  ?  etc.  He  told  them  that  was  true  enough,  as  any  one 
might  see  from  the  street  at  Simonstown. 

He  describes  the  excitement  at  Capetown  as  being  extremely 
violent ;  business  is  nearly  at  a  stand,  and  many  hundreds  of 
persons  are  thrown  out  of  work.  Some  famiUes  are  preparing  to 
wind  up  business,  selling  their  property,  and  declaring  they  will 
fly  the  country.  New  buildings  are  stopped  ;  debts  called  in  : 
everyone  thinks  that  howsoever  this  affair  ends,  it  will  go  near  to 
destroy  the  colony.  An  impression  prevails  that  the  emigrants 
who  have  been  assisted  to  come  here  for  years  4)ast  by  government 
funds  were  in  fact  some  of  Lord  Grey's  convicts  in  disguise  ;  and 
the  farmers  who  had  hired  them  as  servants  and  labourers  are  now 
dismissing  them  ignominiously.  These  poor  creatures,  of  course, 
flock  into  Capetown,  and  add  to  the  ingredients  of  turbulence  that 
are  now  fermenting  there.  Capetown  is  a  city  somewhat  larger 
than  Kilkenny,  peopled  by  three  or  four  distinct  races,  English, 
Dutch  (constituting  the  ruling  caste),  Malays,  Hottentots, 
and  a  very  large  number  who  are  half  Dutch  and  half  of  the 

1 88 


JAIL  JOURNAL  189 

ferocious  Malay  breed  ;  these  are  the  artisans,  boatmen,  coolies, 
servants,  and  the  hke.  Here  are  materials  for  plenty  of  rough 
work. 

The  anti-convicts  are  now  divided  into  two  parties  ;  one,  the 
"  moderates,"  being  wilhng  to  let  the  government,  the  army  and 
navy,  and  even  the  Neptune,  be  supplied  with  provisions  until  the 
decisive  despatch  arrives  from  England,  but  then  (if  the  despatch 
be  unfavourable)  to  enforce  the  "  pledge,"  and  use  every  means  of 
resistance — the  other,  the  immoderates  (and  only  genuine  anti- 
convicts),  insisting  on  the  governor,  and  all  his  satelUtes, 
being  instantly  excommunicated,  unless  he  sends  the  Neptune 
to  sea  at  once,  waiting  for  no  despatches.  These  are  the  great 
majority. 

2^th. — Poor  Dees,  whom  the  governor  would  not  reUeve,  has 
been  reheved  by  another  authority.     He  is  dead. 

2()th.- — Military  guard  changed  to-day  :  a  party  from  the  73rd 
regiment  has  come  on  board,  under  charge  of  a  non-commissioned 
officer.    Our  two  smoking  officers  have  gone  to  smoke  on  shore. 

Zoth,  Sunday. — The  "  Bishop  of  Capetown,"  by  name  Dr.  Gray, 
came  on  board  to-day  and  preached  to  the  convicts  on  the  main 
deck.  I  had  the  curiosity,  whilst  he  preached,  to  walk  near  enough 
to  hear  how  he  addressed  them.  Mr.  Stewart,  the  "  instructor," 
never  says,  "  my  brethren,"  but  always  "  my  men  "  ;  which  I 
suppose  is  the  custom  of  convict  chaplains  :  for  though  preachers 
say  that  we  all  have  sinned,  yet  it  would  be  truly  monstrous  if 
convicted  sinners  were  allowed  to  think  themselves  brethren  to  a 
minister  of  the  gospel.  We  all  have  sinned,  indeed  ;  theoretically 
— or  rather  it  is  the  etiquette  for  us  to  say  so,  in  our  polite 
intercourse,  as  it  were,  with  the  Almighty.  To  my  surprise, 
however,  the  bishop  called  the  poor  convicts, "  My  dearly  beloved 
brethren." 

After  service  he  inquired  for  me  :  the  captain  came  for  me,  and 
as  he,  in  the  doctor's"  absence,  is  my  head  jailor,  I  went  with  him 
into  the  after-cabin,  and  was  introduced  to  the  reverend  man.  He 
is  a  young  man  for  a  bishop,  but  wears  a  highly  orthodox  shovel- 
hat,  and  a  very  peremptory  silk  apron  girt  round  his  loins.  I 
found  him  a  most  agreeable  person  :  he  heartily  approves  of  the 
anti-convict  movement* :  told  him  I  was  glad  to  hear  that — that  I 
also  approved  of  it.    He  declared  that  if  the  colony  were  but  a 


-i 


190  JAIL  JOURNAL 

little  stronger  it  would  rise  in  arms  at  once  upon  this  argument 
— to  which  I  said  bravo  !  This  circumstance,  however,  he  men- 
tioned not  expUcitly  as  his  own  episcopal  recommendation,  but 
as  the  imiversal  feeling  of  the  people.  We  conversed  for  nearly 
half  an  hour,  and  I  was  sorry  when  he  went  away. 

Oct  1st. — ^The  people  of  Simonstown,  I  fear,  can  hold  out  no 
longer.  Shopkeepers,  it  is  said,  have  begun  to  fly  from  the  place, 
and  bills  are  appearing  in  the  windows.  Most  of  them,  indeed, 
are  opening  their  shops  again,  a  very  superficial  examination 
being  enough  to  satisfy  the  traders  that  all  is  right.  Even  in 
Capetown,  though  they  still  refuse  all  intercourse  with  govern- 
ment, or  any  of  the  departments  as  such,  yet  they  will  sell  goods 
to  any  one  as  an  individual.  There  are  no  tenders  yet  for  new 
contracts,  and  the  victor  of  Aliwal  is  in  sad  straits. 

In  the  country  parts  the  excitement  and  irritation  increase 
daily.  The  presence  of  this  plague  ship  in  their  waters 
acts  on  the  colony  Uke  some  acrid  irritant  introduced  into 
a  living  body — there  is  fever  and  pain  till  the  peccant 
matter  is  got  rid  of — the  people  really  cannot  bear  this 
poisonous  blister  of  felony:  they  get  no  rest  at  night,  but 
are  waylaid  in  dreams  by  atrocious  convicts — they  are  now 
actually  urging  and  obsecrating  the  governor  daily  to  send  the 
ship  at  least  out  of  the  bay  and  beyond  the  Cape  horizon, 
with  orders  to  cruise  off  this  fearful  coast  until  the  expected 
despatches  arrive — that  is  for  three,  four,  or  five  months. 
This  Jie  has  announced  he  cannot  legally  do — the  Attorney- 
General  so  advises  him — for  the  Cape  also  has  an  Attorney- 
General — whereupon  the  anti-convicts  have  laid  the  case  before 
some  dozen  eminent  lawyers,  Dutch  and  English,  who  unani- 
mously affirm  that  he  can  legally  do  it.  And  so  the  anti-convicts 
say  he  ought  to  do  it,  must  do  it,  and  if  he  will  not  do  it,  they 
will  apply  the  pledge  machinery  to  him  in  all  its  power — ^will 
absolutely  refuse  to  let  anything  be  purchased  for  his  private 
use,  even  by  individuals — they  will  cut  off  his  gas,  will  turn  off 
his  water,  will  create  on  all  sides  a  vacuum  aroimd  (and  inside  of) 
the  government  and  all  official  persons ;  so  that  the  thing,  it  is 
hoped,  must  collapse.  Various  mischievous  rumours  heighten  the 
perturbation.  One  day  it  was  said  that  a  few  of  the  most  un- 
speakable felons  had  made  their  escape  from  the  Neptune  by 


JAIL  JOURNAL  191 

swimming,  and  had  straightway  dispersed  themselves  over  the 
coimtry  on  their  errand  of  plunder,  blood,  and  ravishment. 

In  the  meantime  the  governor  has,  they  say,  so  far  complied 
with  the  Association  as  to  promise  decidedly  that  if  the  final 
order  of  the  Colonial  Office  be  to  land  the  convicts,  he  will  not 
be  the  instrument  of  inflicting  so  great  an  injury,  but  will 
resign.  Therefore,  we  are  likely  to  he  here  the  whole  summer, 
till  February  or  March  next — while  his  resignation  goes  to 
England,  and  a  new  governor  comes  out. 

What  complicates  the  business  greatly,  and  adds  materially  to 
the  Downing  Street  difficulty,  is  that  the  Australian  colonies  are 
also  up  in  arms  against  the  admission  of  any  more  British  felony 
there.  A  ship  that  lately  arrived  at  Sydney  roused  an  opposition 
nearly  as  strong  as  we  see  here  now,  but  not  so  well  organised  ; 
for  that  governor  at  once  landed  the  prisoners  and  shut  the  gates 
of  government  house  against  a  deputation  coming  to  remonstrate. 
And  there  are  two  or  three  shiploads  of  convicts,  including  that 
which  holds  Martin  and  O'Doherty,  now  at  sea  on  their  way  to 
N.  S.  Wales,  or  Van  Diemen's  land — for  on  Britain's  convict-ships 
the  sun  never  sets — and  it  is  hard  to  guess  whether  these  will  be 
suffered  to  land  their  cargoes  when  they  arrive.  If  we  should  be 
sent  forward,  therefore,  to  any  part  of  Austraha,  it  would  be  only 
another  experimental  trip  :  and  the  worthy  colonists  there  also 
might  bid  us  pass  on.  At  worst  we  cannot  go  much  farther  from 
home  :  if  my  kidnappers  make  me  sail  any  farther  on  that  tack, 
I  shall  only  be  coming  round  upon  them  at  the  other  side  :  which 
is  one  advantage  of  inhabiting  a  spherical  body  or  spheroid,  not 
heretofore  noticed  by  the  learned. 

Several  persons  have  come  to  see  me,  either  out  of  simple 
curiosity — ^having  heard  that  there  is  a  felon  of  a  rather  imusual 
sort  to  be  seen  here — or  from  a  kinder  motive.  A  yoimg  midship- 
man of  the  Castor  frigate  came  on  board  the  other  day,  introduced 
himself  to  me,  and  said  he  was  an  Irishman  :  so  we  had  some  talk 
thereupon.  A  Church  of  England  clergyman,  named  Sandberg, 
by  birth  a  German,  being  on  his  way  from  India,  and  making 
some  stay  at  the  Cape,  has  been  several  times  on  board,  and 
has  preached,  he  says,  to  the  prisoners,  between  decks.  He 
offers  me  the  loan  of  books,  and  is  otherwise  poUte  and 
attentive.    Also,  several  others,  whom  I  forget. 


192  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Oct.  12th. — Our  good  colonists  are  growing  frenetic.  Rumour 
and  rage,  and  "  preternatural  suspicion,"  are  driving  them  mad. 
The  last  week  seems  to  have  been  hurrying  matters  forward  to 
some  violent  issue.  Finding  that  the  ship  was  not  ordered  away, 
nor  likely  to  be,  and  that  the  published  opinions  of  Dutch  juris- 
consults were  disregarded,  as  well  as  the  published  harangues  of 
the  clergy  and  the  published  prayer  adopted  in  the  Jews'  syna- 
gogue— and  that  both  army,  navy,  government,  yea,  and  the 
very  convicts,  were  actually  feasting  on  Cape  beef  and  mutton, 
though  at  some  inconvenience  to  the  providers,  and  not  without 
a  display  of  force — seeing  all  this,  and  imagining  that  all  was  lost 
if  the  ship  were  allowed  to  await  Lord  Grey's  decision,  the  anti- 
convicts  convened  a  great  open-air  monster  meeting  yesterday, 
and  have  solemnly  resolved  to  shut  all  shops,  and  to  deal  with 
nobody  but  their  own  customers  and  pledged  persons.  They 
recdly  hope  to  make  it  impossible  for  the  governor  to  subsist  the 
convicts,  or  even  himself  while  he  harbours  the  convicts.  The 
resolution  is  printed,  and  posted  everywhere,  by  way  of  pro- 
clamation ;  and  one  hour  after  it  was  promulgated  yesterday, 
every  shop  in  Capetown  was  shut  up.  A  courier  was  sent  post  to 
Simon's  Bay,  with  a  copy  of  the  new  edict,  and  injunctions  to 
enforce  the  observance  of  the  pledge  most  rigorously  from  this 
day  forth.  Simonstown,  therefore,  is  once  more  inaccessible. 
The  unanimity  with  which  all  this  business  goes  on  is  wonderful. 
Even  the  "  moderates,"  though  they  deprecate  such  an  extreme 
measure,  say  they  will  act  with  their  countrymen.  Nobody,  in 
fact,  dares  to  disobey  the  piehiscitum.    Here  it  is  : — 

"  Anti-Convict  Association. 

"  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Association,  held  in  the  Town 
Hall  this  day,  Thursday — J.  J.  L.  Smuts,  Esq.,  in  the  chair — 
moved  by  J.  Fairbaim,  Esq.,  seconded  by  Thos.  Sutherland,  Esq., 

"  That  in  consequence  of  the  bad  faith  of  the  Right  Hon.  the 
Earl  Grey,  and  of  his  attempts  to  make  this  colony  a  penal 
settlement,  against  the  wishes  and  in  defiance  of  the  petitions,  re- 
monstrances and  protests  of  the  inhabitants  ;  and  in  consequence 
of  the  detention  within  the  limits  of  the  colony  of  the  ship  Nep- 
tune, with  convicts  on  board,  whose  destination  is  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  on  the  ground  of  a  professional  opinion  given  by  her 


William  Smith  O'Brien 
(1848) 


JAIL  JOURNAL  193 

Majesty's  Attorney-General,  as  to  the  illegality  of  sending  them 
away,  which  the  whole  of  the  other  members  of  the  Bar  have  pro- 
nounced to  be  erroneous,  society  in  this  colony  is  rapidly  falling 
into  disorder,  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  and  the 
local  government  is  fast  becoming,  by  reason  of  this  disorder  and 
dissatisfaction,  less  and  less  capable  of  fulfilling  the  duties  of  a  free 
government,  and  less  and  less  capable  of  protecting  the  lives  and 
property  of  the  frontier  and  other  inhabitants,  should  any  troubles 
arise  among  the  native  tribes  and  people  on  the  borders : 

"  Therefore,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  good  and  loyal  subjects  of  her 
Majesty,  at  once  from  this  day  to  suspend  all  business  transactions 
with  the  government,  in  any  shape  or  upon  any  terms,  until  it  is 
officially  declared  that  the  Neptune,  with  the  convicts  on  board, 
will  go  away  as  soon  as  all  necessary  supplies  for  her  voyage  can 
be  put  on  board — and  that  aU  intercoiwse  and  connection  between 
private  individuals  and  his  Excellency  and  heads  of  the  victualling 
departments  shall  be  dropped  from  this  day — the  merchants, 
auctioneers,  bakers,  butchers,  shopkeepers,  and  all  other  good  and 
loyed  people  dealing  only  with  such  private  individuals  as  they 
know  and  clearly  understand  to  be  unconnected  with  those  depart- 
ments by  or  through  which  suppUes,  sufficient  to  afford  a  pretext 
for  the  detention  of  the  convicts,  may  possibly  be  obtained. 

"  And  that,  the  measures  already  taken  for  this  purpose  being 
too  slow  for  the  urgency  of  the  case,  it  is  recommended  that  after 
this  moment  all  shops  and  stores  shall  be  closed  as  for  a  solemn 
fast,  except  for  the  accommodation  of  ordinary  private,  and 
well-known  customers  that  his  Excellency  may  no  longer  be 
in  doubt  as  to  the  impossibility  of  detaining  the  Neptune  with 
her  convicts  within  the  Umits  of  this  colony. 
"  Cjirried  unanimously." 

Possibly,  the  wisdom  of  this  last  procedure  may  be  questionable. 
Certainly,  it  is  not  to  be  thought  of  that  the  governor  of  a  mari- 
time colony,  having  plenty  of  ships  and  troops  at  his  disposal,  can 
be  coerced  by  mere  starvation  to  do  what  the  popular  will  dictates. 
He  may  be  inconvenienced,  and  the  troops  may  be  made  hostile  to 
the  country  ;  but  all  that  will  not  make  it  "  impossible  "  to  retain 
the  Neptune  in  Simon's  Bay  for  a  few  months,  or  even  years. 
Here  she  will  assuredly  stay,  notwithstanding  what  they  call  the 
urgency  of  the  case,  till  the  EngUsh  despatch  comes  in  ;  therefore 
13 


194  JAIL  JOURNAL 

it  may  be  that  the  course  proposed  by  the  "  moderates  "  is  the 
wiser  course,  to  let  matters  go  on  quietly,  in  the  meantime  (con- 
tent that  felony  is  kept  afloat)  reserving  extreme  measures  of 
resistance  to  meet  the  actual  atrocity  of  landing  the  cargo,  if 
this  should  be  attempted. 

I  have  a  strong  suspicion,  however,  that  these  "  moderates  " 
would  still  be  moderate  to  the  last,  and  that  if  the  preservation 
of  the  Cape  depended  upon  them,  it  would  be  a  lost  country. 

When  we  came  in  here  at  first,  the  chief  leader  of  the  movement 
seemed  to  be  a  Mr.  Ebden  ;  but  he  has  been  backsliding  into 
moderatism,  and  is  superseded  by  a  newspaper  editor,  named 
Fairbaim,  a  man  of  much  ability  and  energy,  and  a  most  im- 
moderate opponent  of  convicts.  Ebden's  portrait,  lately  hung  up 
in  the  public  hall  of  meeting,  has  been  thrown  down  and  dis- 
honoured. Artists  are  now  engaged  on  a  grand  historic  piece  re- 
presenting the  public  meeting  of  yesterday,  with  Mynheer  Smuts 
in  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Fairbaim  in  the  act  of  moving  the  great 
resolution  interdicting  the  governor  from  fire  and  water.  There 
is  talk  of  martial  law  ;  and,  in  fact,  any  moment  of  excitement 
now  may  give  excuse  for  it.  Capetown  streets  are  always 
crowded ;  there  are  continual  open-air  meetings ;  and  the 
smallest  act  of  imprudence,  on  either  side,  might  bring  about  a 
collision  whose  issue  it  would  be  hard  to  foresee. 

The  chances  of  *a  revolt  are  beginning  to  be  much  discussed. 
The  Dutch,  like  every  other  nation  that  has  ever  had  to  do  with 
the  English  Government,  cordially  hate  the  Enghsh  Government  ; 
and  are  said  to  be  perfectly  willing,  on  any  day,  to  proclaim  the 
country  independent,  and  take  up  arms  to  make  good  their  words. 
The  colonists  of  British  descent  also  (except  the  small  party  of 
moderate  slaves)  are  quite  as  determined  in  this  business  as  their 
neighbours,  and  as  disaffected  too.  On  the  other  hand,  the  city 
of  Capetown  is  absolutely  commanded  by  the  "  Castle  "  and  two 
small  forts ;  besides,  it  could  be  blown  to  atoms  by  the  ships  of 
war  in  half  a  day.  The  interior  country,  however,  is  very 
strong,  and  to  conquer  it  would  need  four  times  the  force  that 
the  governor  can  command. 

One  result  of  the  present  movement  seems  likely  to  be  a  true 
national  spirit :  this  common  danger  threatening  their  country, 
common  risk  and  loss  in  repelling  it,  mutual  help  and  counsel 


JAIL  JOURNAL  195 

against  one  and  the  same  treacherous  foe — the  very  certificates, 
in  Dutch  and  EngUsh,  that  carry  travellers  of  either  race  through 
every  valley,  kloof,  and  plain,  in  the  wide  continent,  opening  all 
doors  and  all  hearts  to  an  enemy  of  Graaf  Grey — these  are  the 
influences  that  have  power  to  make  an  accidental  aggregation  of 
settlers  become  a  national  brotherhood  instinct  with  the  vital 
fire  of  liberty,  and  can  transform  the  sons  of  English  and  of 
Dutch  fathers  into  a  self-dependent,  high-spirited  nation  of 
South  Africans.  So  be  it !  There  will  be  one  free  nation  the 
more. 

I  drink  to-night,  with  enthusiasm,  in  red  wine  of  Cape  vines, 
the  health  of  the  future  South  African  Republic. 

I  have  procured  from  shore  a  dozen  of  very  tolerable  wine — for 
they  do  not  seem  to  regard  their  pledge  as  applying  to  me — and 
am  disgusted  at  their  practice  of  seUing  their  own  red  wine  with 
a  seal  upon  its  cork  bearing  the  legend  "  Port,"  and  their  white 
as  "  Sherry."  And  they  actually  manufacture  and  drug  their 
grape- juice  to  make  it  resemble  what  the  English  drink  for  port 
and  sherry  in  their  own  country.  It  is  a  mean,  narrow-minded, 
and  altogether  British  proceeding — the  South  Africans  ought  to 
have  respect  to  the  produce  of  their  own  vineyards,  be  it  good, 
bad,  or  indifferent — and  some  of  it  is  bad  enough.  At  any  rate, 
they  ought  to  call  it  Cape  wine,  designating  the  kinds  according 
to  the  district  or  vineyard  that  yields  them.  Has  not  Draken- 
stein  as  good  a  sound  as  Rudesheim  ?  or  Houtbaai  as  C6te  d'Or  ? 
When  the  RepubUc  is  estabUshed,  they  must  reform  this  alto- 
gether. 

13/A. — ^The  blockade  at  Capetown  has  grown  very  strict.  Three 
persons  have  been  detected  supplying  things  to  the  government 
secretly,  and  so  turning  a  clandestine  penny,  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  common  weal.  Their  names  and  crimes  were  instantly 
blazoned  on  the  comers  of  all  the  streets — intercourse  with  them 
was  suspended  (opteschorten) — all  commimications  with  them  cut 
off  (aftesnyden).  One  of  them  owned  houses — all  his  tenants 
forthwith  bundled  up  their  effects,  and  fled  as  from  plague- 
infected  dwellings.  Another  attended  a  bullock  sale,  and  bid 
for  a  lot — it  was  knocked  down  to  him — he  had  the  money 
in  his  hand  to  pay  for  it,  when  he  was  recognised  as  one  of  the 
traitors  j  the  lot  wa?  forthwith  put  up  again.    The  name  of  one 


196  JAIL  JOURNAL 

of  these  unfortunate  persons  is  Benjamin   Norden,   touching 
whom  I  extract  an  advertisement  from  the  Zuid  Afrikaan  : — 

Notice. — It  is  suspected  that  a  person  named  Lery,  or  O'Leary,  from 
George,  is  purchasing  articles  for  Benjamin  Norden.  (Signed)  Alexander 
Miller,  13  Heerengracht.     12th  Oct.,  1849. 

The  Cape  newspapers,  I  observe,  never  mention  my  name : 
they  cannot  afford  to  let  the  pubhc  mind  dwell  upon  the  fact 
that  there  is  anything  on  board  the  Neptune  but  a  mass  of 
incarnate  burglary,  thievery  and  corruption.  They  call  us 
all  "  the  unhappy  men." 

It  is  now  generally  supposed,  by  the  naval  persons  here,  that 
the  last  anti-convict  movement  will  at  last  compel  the  governor  to 
suspend  the  Constitution  (such  as  it  is),  and  proclaim  martial  law 
— or  rather  put  aside  all  law,  and  take  what  he  wants  as  in  a 
hostile  territory.  My  own  impression  still  is  that  he  will  be  able 
to  maintain  the  pubhc  estabUshments  without  that  odious  pro- 
ceeding :  besides,  he  has  none  of  the  usual  excuses  for  such  an 
outrage,  because  the  people  are  quite  peaceable,  every  man  only 
exercising  his  undoubted  right  over  his  own  shop  or  warehouse. 
Nevertheless,  Sir  Harry,  having  a  garrison  of  three  of  four  thou- 
sand men  to  feed,  would  be  already  in  sad  extremity  but  for  one 
or  two  desperately  loyal  individuals  who  are  coming  to  his  relief. 
There  is  a  certain  Captain  Stanford,  who  has  a  large  estate  in 
Swellendam,  and  he  has  placed  2,000  head  of  cattle,  besides  sheep 
without  number,  at  the  governor's  disposal :  but  soldiers  have  to 
butcher  the  meat,  to  bake  the  bread,  to  build  ovens  to  bake  it  in, 
and  to  endure  incessant  volleys  of  civilian  laughter  all  the  while. 
There  was,  by  chance,  in  Table  Bay,  a  vessel  called  the  Rosebud, 
laden  with  flour  for  Port  Natal :  the  governor  laid  hands  on  it, 
paid  the  freight  to  Natal,  and  brought  the  flour  on  shore — but 
soldiers  had  to  row  the  boats  :  the  black  boatmen  would  hold  no 
intercourse. 

All  this  while  the  commodore,  who  is  our  governor  at  Simons- 
town,  and  absolutely  rules  everjrthing  afloat,  quietly  provides 
store  of  sheep  and  bullocks  by  repeated  raids.  In  the  mornings 
I  can  count,  through  a  glass,  the  tired  brutes  lying  or  grazing  on 
a  small  patch  of  grass  in  front  of  his  door. 

18th. — Mr.  Stewart,  the  "  instructor,"  went  a  few  days  ago  to 
Capetown,  and  took  up  his  lodgings  in  a  hotel :  he  has  just 


JAIL  JOURNAL  197 

returned  on  board,  having  been  obliged  to  walk  half  the  way 
because  when  they  recognised  him  at  W3mberg  he  could  get  no 
horse  or  conveyance  for  hire  :  says  he  left  the  hotel  voluntarily  ; 
but  if  he  had  stayed  another  night,  would  have  been  turned  out. 
He  went  into  a  woollen  draper's  shop,  to  purchase  materials  for 
a  waistcoat ;  the  cloth  was  folded  and  papered  up  for  him,  when 
someone  came  in  who  knew  the  convict-instructor  :  there  was  a 
whispering  with  the  shopkeeper  for  a  single  instant,  and  then  Mr. 
Stewart  was  informed  that  he  could  not  be  supplied.  He 
asked,  with  high  indignation,  if  their  pledge  required  them  "  to 
deny  clothing  to  a  minister  of  the  gospel  to  cover  his  nakedness  ?  " 
This  strong  way  of  putting  the  case  staggered  the  wooUen  draper, 
who  had  not  considered  the  matter  in  that  precise  point  of  view :  he 
said  he  would  step  over  and  consult  Mr.  Fairbaim  (the  newspaper 
editor  aforesaid),  and  on  coming  back  said  positively  the  thing 
could  not  be  done.  Mr.  Fairbaim  sent  word  to  Mr.  Stewart  that  he 
might  go  to  the  governor  for  waistcoats.  Sir  Harry  Smith,  victor 
of  AUwal,  was  the  man  to  supply  the  convict  department. 

InteUigence  has  arrived  of  the  effects  produced  in  remote  places, 
Graaf  Reynet,  Grahamstown,  etc.,  by  thp  announcement  that  the 
accursed  Neptune  had  actually  cast  anchor  in  Simon's  Bay. 
"  Solemn  fast  "  ever5rwhere  :  windows  hung  with  crape  ;  bells 
funereally  tolling  :  government  officers  placed  under  a  complete 
interdict,  imtil  the  bandits  leave  Simon's  Bay.  Butchers  and 
bakers  say  to  them—"  We  deal  not  with  the  dead  :  you  are  no 
more  (for  the  Neptune  floats  in  Simon's  Bay) — and  it  is  impossible 
that  departed  spirits  should  need  bread  or  beef.  We  cannot  take 
money  from  ghosts  ;  therefore  avaunt,  in  the  name  of  God  ! — ^the 
convicts  ride  at  anchor  in  Simon's  Bay." 

Almost  all  the  justices  of  the  peace  throughout  the  country, 
who  are  paid  officers  of  the  government,  are  pouring  in  their 
resignations  ;  and  great  numbers  of  persons  called  Field-comets 
are  doing  the  same.  I  do  not  well  understand  the  office  and  duty 
of  these  Field-comets  :  but  whoever  they  are,  they  cannot  think 
of  holding  any  sort  of  communication  with  Sir  Harry  Smith  till 
the  Neptune  leaves  the  Bay.* 

*  Field-Cornet — Veldt-Cornet — is  the  Boer  local  registrar.  In  wartime 
it  is  part  of  his  business  to  assemble  the  Commando — that  is,  the  farmers 
of  his  official  district — equipped  for  the  campaign. 


198  JAIL  JOURNAL 

There  is  a  functionary  named  Montague,  secretary  to  the 
governor  ;  and  a  very  great  man  of  the  kind.  He  is  just  now  on 
an  official  tour  through  the  interior ;  and  though  he  has  been 
accustomed  to  distinguished  receptions  at  all  the  district  capitals 
upon  such  occasions — local  authorities  turning  out  to  meet  him 
with  trumpets,  or  such  other  instruments  of  noise  as  they  have — 
now  he  can  hardly  get  horses  to  hire,  or  lodgings  to  sleep  in. 
Horses  they  will  give  him  to  return  to  Capetown,  but  none  to 
proceed  ;  and  he  reckons  himself  fortimate  if  he  can  borrow  two 
chairs  imder  a  cattle-shed  to  spend  the  night,  and  dry  bread 
enough  to  keep  the  Ufe  in  him.  To  give  him  even  so  much,  I 
regard  as  a  culpable  derehction  of  principle. 

The  Apollo,  a  large  troop-ship,  is  come  into  the  bay,  and  is 
moored  within  a  cable's  length  of  us.  She  is  a  frigate  ;  carries 
four  hundred  men  of  the  59th  regiment,  and  is  bound  for  Hong 
Kong.  Her  arrival  is  chiefly  important  in  that  the  splendid 
miUtary  band  plays  every  morning  and  every  evening,  making 
the  soft  air  thrill  and  tremble  with  delightful  melody  of  march 
or  waltz. 

Her  arrival,  however,  ^  said  to  be  regarded  by  the  governor 
as  important  in  another  point  of  view  ;  he  may  need  the  soldiers 
to  quell  a  rebellion,  and  he  may  need  the  ship,  to  send  her  to 
St.  Helena  or  Rio  for  provisions.  So  she  is  to  remain  here  a 
few  weeks,  with  her  band. 

igih. — The  shops  of  Capetown  are  still  shut  up  ;  but  I  gather 
from  the  papers,  that  the  natural  effects  of  a  stoppage  of  business 
have  begun  to  be  felt  severely — small  tradesmen,  journeymen, 
porters,  all,  in  short,  who  depend  on  their  daily  wages,  are 
suffering  :  a  few  days  ago  the  coolies  went  to  the  governor  in  a 
body  three  hundred  strong  to  demand  work  and  food ;  the 
governor,  it  seems,  sent  them  to  Mr.  Fairbaim,  Mr.  Fairbaim 
bade  them  go  to  Benjamin  Norden,  Benjamin  Norden  sent  them 
to  Mr.  Sutherland.  Now  this  is  not  the  way  to  feed  capons,  much 
less  coolies  ;  and  I  fear  if  the  struggle  last  long  the  labouring 
classes  will  tire  of  it  altogether  :  they  will  think  anti-convictism 
is  good,  but  daily  bread  is  better  :  shopkeepers,  too,  unless  rich, 
must  soon  give  way,  for  rent  and  taxes  cannot  be  paid  out  of 
closed  shops.  All  this  is  unfortunate  ;  and  I  am  truly  sorry  for 
the   colonists — the  violent  demonstrations  they  have   already 


JAIL  JOURNAL  199 

made  may  provoke  the  Downing  Street  ruffians  to  persist  in 
swamping  the  country  with  felons,  just  because  it  is  too  weak 
and  too  poor  to  resist  them  effectually — mean,  cruel,  and 
treacherous  tyrants ! 

Mob-work  has  fairly  begun.  Mr.  Norden  was  attacked  by  a 
violent  mob  in  the  streets,  and  his  house  was  afterwards  beset  and 
the  windows  broken.  He  fired  on  them,  but  nobody  was  wounded. 
The  very  same  evening  a  number  of  Malays  fell  upon  Mr.  Fairbaim 
at  his  house  at  Greenpoint,  beat  him,  and  destroyed  a  good  deal 
of  furniture.  The  persons  who  committed  this  last  outrage  were 
evidently  employed  by  government  people,  for  those  of  them  who 
have  been  identified  turn  out  to  be  officers'  servants.  The  governor 
avails  himself  of  these  riots  to  begin  coercion  :  he  has  just 
issued  a  proclamation  forbidding  assemblies  in  the  streets 
"  under  pretence  "  of  discussing  pohtical  questions  (as  if  the 
public  interest  in  the  matter  were  all  a  pretence)  and  intimating 
that  the  police  have  orders  to  disperse  all  such  assemblies. 
This  is  his  first  step — the  next  may  probably  be  to  prosecute 
Mr.  Fairbaim  and  other  newspaper  editors,  and  suppress  their 
papers  :  such  is  the  way  of  governments.  If  Sir  Harry  Smith, 
now,  would  order  his  Attorney-General  to  indict  the  worthy 
Fairbaim  for  sedition  before  a  prudently  selected  jury,  composed 
of  his  own  creatures  and  dependents,  with  the  gunner's  mate  of 
the  Castor  as  foreman,  I  imagine  Fairbaim  would  soon  be  a  con- 
vict instead  of  an  anti-convict.  But  I  do  not  beUeve  Old  Sir 
Harry  would  condescend  to  this  species  of  ruffianism.  He  is  a 
downright  soldier,  and  no  "  Amehorative  Viceroy." 

I  fear,  I  fear  the  colony  is  not  strong  enough  to  resist  coercion, 
and  to  scourge  this  British  redcoat  into  the  sea.  The  whole  Cape 
population,  white,  black,  and  brown,  scattered  over  a  vast 
territory,  is  under  200,000 — and  they  are  not  able  to  reproduce 
the  grand  drama  of  Boston,  Saratoga,  and  Yorktown,  just  yet. 
And  their  cause  is  more  righteous — ^the  outrage  sought  to  be  put 
upon  them  a  thousand  times  more  grievous.  But  justice  and 
right  do  not  always  prevail  in  this  world,  nor  often.  "  That 
which  is  crooked  cannot  be  made  straight,  and  that  which  is 
wanting  cannot  be  numbered." 

23^^/. — I  have  just  learned  that  the  Cape  convict  question  is 
about  to  be  still  more  compUcated.    One  of  Lord  Grey's  de- 


^  kii^iJ^:^!^  i^^^'  ^' 


200 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


spatches  to  the  governor  mentions  that  the  "  Government "  were 
about  to  send  out  to  the  Cape  the  wives  and  families  of  the  Nep- 
tune convicts.  In  fact,  when  the  hst  of  recommended  prisoners 
was  made  out  at  Bermuda  for  transmission  to  England,  two  or 
three  months  before  the  Neptune  came  to  Bermuda,  each  man 
was  asked  whether  he  was  married,  in  what  parish  and  county  his 
wife  and  family  resided,  and  whether  he  wished  them  to  be  brought 
out  to  him  at  the  Cape,  "  Government "  paying  half  the  expense. 
The  married  men  all  availed  themselves,  I  was  told,  of  this  offer  : 
the  names  and  residences  of  their  wives,  etc.,  have  been  in  Lord 
Grey's  hands  now  more  than  half  a  year  ;  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  these  poor  helpless  women  and  children  are  even  now  at  sea, 
on  their  way  to  this  hospitable  cUme.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
Cape  are  now  looking  out  for  their  arrival  by  every  fair  wind  that 
blows  into  Table  Bay.  What  kind  of  reception  awaits  the  poor 
souls,  the  following  extract  from  the  proceedings  of  the  anti- 
convict  people  indicates  : — 

ANTI-CONVICT  ASSOCIATION. 

The  report  of  the  Simon's  Bay  Committee  having  been  read — it  was 
unanimously 

Resolved — That  Messrs.  Hablutzel  &  Hugo,  Butchers,  at  Simon's  Bay, 
have  broken  the  Pledge. 

Moved  by  H.  Sherman,  Esq.,  seconded  by  P.  Law,  Esq., 

That  this  meeting  being  of  opinion  that  the  intention  of  Earl  Grey  to 
send  to  this  colony  the  wives  (or  reputed  wives)  and  families  of  convicts 
as  referred  to  in  his  despatch  to  the  governor  of  this  colony,  dated  i8th 
July,  1849,  would  be  highly  injurious  to  the  interests  and  moral  welfare 
of  the  community.  Resolved,  that  they  will  not  under  any  circumstances 
knowingly  employ,  admit  into  their  houses,  or  establishments,  work  with, 
or  for,  or  associate  with  any  of  the  afore-mentioned  wives  and  families  of 
convicts,  and  that  they  will  drop  connexion  with  any  person  who  may 
give  them  employment. 

Carried  unanimously. 

A  resolution  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Fairbaim,  the  consideration  of  which 
was  ordered  to  b  :t  postponed — till  a  special  meeting,  to  be  held  on  Thurs- 
day at  10  o'clock. 

(Signed)  J.  J.  L.  Smuts,  Chairman. 

And  the  stupid  rogues  in  Downing  Street,  who  work  all  this 
woe  and  ruin,  stiU  call  themselves  the  "  Government,"  and  do 
not,  and  will  not,  go  and  hang  themselves. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

Oct.  26,  1849. — Still  on  board  the  Neptune,  Simon's  Bay.  A 
ship  has  arrived  from  England,  but  does  not  carry  our  destiny. 
Two  weekly  newspapers.  News  from  Europe  up  to  the  nth 
August.  The  Hungarians  are  still  beating  both  Austrians  and 
Russians  in  gallant  style.  It  has  begun  to  be  highly  probable  that 
Hungary  will  be  a  free  and  potent  nation.  Whereupon  the 
EngUsh  newspapers  have  discovered  that  Hungary  really  was  a 
nation,  and  had  a  right  to  assert  her  nationhood.  Lord 
Palmerston,  too,  in  ParHament,  declares  that  the  hearts  of  the 
people  of  England — bless  their  hearts  ! — are  enUsted  on  the 
side  of  the  Hungarians,  if  that  be  any  comfort.  Bern  and 
Gorgey  have  brought  matters  so  far.  Lord  Palmerston  being 
asked  why  Britain  should  content  herself  with  expressing  an 
opinion  against  Russian  intervention  in  Hungary — why  not 
take  arms  ? — answers,  in  the  enthusiastic  cant  which  now 
prevails,  "  That  opinion  is  stronger  than  arms."  It  is  enough 
to  make  the  Russian  bear  laugh. 

British  opinion,  however,  seems  to  be  little  regarded  on  the 
Continent.  The  levy  of  enlisted  "  hearts  "  is  not  reckoned  a 
very  formidable  contingent.  Clubs  are  trumps  there,  and  hearts 
do  not  count. 

This  delightful  spirit  of  peace  which  now  rules  British  councils 
must  be  very  satisfactory  to  the  Sikhs  and  to  the  Irish.  British 
reverence  for  "  opinion,"  also,  is  surely  most  comfortable  in 
Ireland,  where  all  anti-British  opinion  must  be  suppressed,  and 
those  who  utter  it  imprisoned  or  transported. 

I  find  a  paragraph  copied  from  the  Glohe,  stating  that  Mr.  Duffy, 
being  now  at  large,  and  safe  from  any  further  trial  on  his  present 
indictment,  has  advertised  a  new  series  of  the  Nation,  to  be 
shortly  commenced  ;  but  the  Glohe  adds,  that  the  "  Government  " 
(the  same  fellows  who  so  profoundly  revere  opinion — their  own 
opinion)  have  refused  to  issue  stamps  for  it.  A  law  has  been 
found,  too — a  most  convenient  law — whereby  no  newspaper  in 

201  - 


202  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Ireland  may  publish  anything  at  all,  save  by  favour  and  Suffer- 
ance of  the  "  Government " — or  transmit  a  single  number,  even 
stamped,  through  the  post-office,  save  by  the  courtesy  of  the 
postmaster-general,  that  is,  of  the  same  "  Government." 

One  is  at  first  incHned  to  say,  that  the  people  of  England  are 
looking  stupidly  on  at  all  these  late  proceedings  in  Ireland — bUnd 
to  the  danger  that  menaces  their  own  Uberties.  But  not  so ; 
every  Englishman  feels  that  by  this  tyranny  over  press  and 
people  in  Ireland,  British  supremacy  is  the  thing  that  is  asserted. 
They  know  that  it  means  simply  "  the  Red  above  the  Green." 
They  never  dream  of  Irish  government  maxims  being  applied, 
or  apphcable  to  England  ;   and  they  are  right. 

In  this  particular  case  of  the  Nation,  however,  if  Lord  Clarendon 
do  indeed  refuse  stamps,  it  will  be  a  gross  blunder.  He  ought  to 
allow  Duffy  to  publish,  for  the  new  series  will  be  perfectly  con- 
stitutional, safe,  and  legal — cannot  be  otherwise  after  the 
evidence  Mr.  Duffy  produced  on  his  trial  to  prove  his  moral-force 
character ;  indeed,  it  will  be  such  a  newspaper,  as,  if  not 
pubUshed  by  Duffy,  Lord  Clarendon  ought  to  pay  somebody 
to  publish — taking  care,  also,  to  give  it  the  very  name, 
"  The  Nation." 

Oh,  patient !  patient  public  !  A  new  series  of  the  Nation,  by 
Duffy — and  after  the  scenes  of  the  last  few  months.  I  know  no 
parallel  to  this,  except  the  "  young  spodizator,"  whom  Dr.  Rabe- 
lais saw  with  his  own  eyes,  earning  his  livelihood  in  a  somewhat 
peculiar  manner — namely,  very  artificially  drawing  BSeor/Mara  out 
of  a  dead  ass,  and  retailing  them  at  fivepence  per  yard. 

Queen  in  Ireland. — This  year  her  Majesty's  advisers  deemed 
the  coast  clear  for  the  royal  yacht.  Plenty  of  blazing,  vociferous 
excitement,  called  "  loyalty."  Loyalty,  you  are  to  know,  consists 
in  a  willingness  to  come  out  into  the  street  to  see  a  pageant  pass. 
Besides,  the  visit  was  most  happily  timed  ;  the  "  additional 
powers  "  would  not  expire  for  a  month  yet.  Habeas  Corpus  still 
in  suspension  ;  jails  stiU  yawning  for  seditious  persons ;  Lord 
Clarendon  still  wielding  his  lettres  de  cachet.  No  happier  combina- 
tion of  circumstances  could  be  imagined  ;  so  her  Gracious  Majesty 
has  come  and  enthroned  herself  in  the  hearts  of  her  Irish  subjects  ; 
and  the  newspapers  are  to  say  (at  their  peril)  that  a  brighter  day 
is  just  going  to  dawn  for  Ireland. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  203 

Mr.  Tim  O'Brien  does  the  honours  of  the  city  of  Dublin  to  the 
British  sovereign  ;  presents  her  with  the  kej^s  of  the  "  gate  " — a 
gate  somewhere  between  Irishtown  and  the  end  of  Lower  Baggot 
Street,  where  was  no  city  gate  in  my  time.  And  Mr.  Tim  O'Brien 
is  made,  or  to  be  made,  a  baronet.  Now,  it  is  certainly  the  sheriff 
of  last  year  rather,  who  ought  to  have  been  so  honoured.  No 
gentleman  in  Ireland  deserves  reward  from  the  Queen  of  England 
more  richly  than  last  year's  sheriff.  If  the  intercession  of  so 
humble  a  convict  as  myself  would  have  any  weight  with  her 
Majesty,  I  should  venture  to  recommend  Mr.  French  (that  is  the 
individual's  name,  I  believe)  for  something  handsome.  And  if 
my  fellow-felons,  Messrs.  Martin  and  O'Doherty,  were  not  so  far 
off,  I  feel  sure  they  also  would  be  happy  to  add  their  testimony 
in  his  favour. 

N.B.— The  newspaper  I  have  seen  says  the  Queen  met  with 
nothing  but  loyalty ;  and  that  "  Young  Ireland  was  nowhere  to 
he  seen."  And  the  Times  asks  triumphantly,  "  Where  were  the 
vitriol  bottles  ?  "  as  if  anybody  had  proposed  to  sprinkle  the 
Queen  with  vitriol. 

N.B.  (2) — Her  Majesty  wore,  at  Cork,  a  "  green  silk  visite  "  ; 
also,  carried  a  parasol  of  purple  silk  (perhaps  vitriol  proof).  Her 
Majesty  first  touched  Irish  soil  at  the  Cove  of  Cork,  which  is 
henceforth  Queenstown.    Her  Majesty  did  not  visit  Spike  Island. 

N.B.  (3) — Her  Majesty,  on  board  her  yacht  in  Kingstown  har- 
bour, took  her  children  by  the  hand,  and  "  introduced  them  (in 
dumb  show)  to  the  Irish  people,"  in  a  very  touching  manner. 

N.B.  (4) — Synod  of  Ulster  had  a  deputation  of  their  paid 
preachers  to  meet  her  Majesty  in  Dublin.  Oh  !  where  were  the 
Remonstrant  Synod  ?  Do  they  apprehend  no  danger  to  their 
little  donum  ? 

N.B.  (5) — Her  Majesty  did  not  visit  Skibbereen,  Westport,  or 
Schull ;  neither  did  she  "  drop  in  "  (as  sometimes  in  Scotland)  to 
dine  with  any  of  the  peasantry,  on  their  "  homely  fare."  After  a 
few  years,  however,  it  is  understood  that  Her  Majesty  will  visit 
the  West.  The  human  inhabitants  are  expected  by  that  time  to 
have  been  sufficiently  thinned,  and  the  deer  and  other  game  to 
have  proportionately  multipUed.  The  Prince  Albert  will  then 
take  a  hunting  lodge  in  Connemara. 


204 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


But  Ireland,  as  I  see  by  these  same  papers,  has  had  a  far  more 
royal  visitor.  Carlyle  has  been  there  again,  in  company  with  a 
gentleman  named  Forster.  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  be 
delivered  of  a  book  on  the  subject  of  Ireland  soon.  Unless  I 
much  mistake  his  symptoms,  he  was  going  on  with  such  a  book 
eighteen  months  ago.  There  will  be  a  curious  book !  *  I  trust 
that  I  may  be  in  some  part  of  the  world  whither  its  winged 
words  will  find  their  way ;  for,  indeed,  Thomas  Carlyle  is  the 
only  mzin  in  these  latter  days  who  produces  what  can  properly  be 
termed  books. 

Meantime  enter  a  basket,  with  superb  clusters  of  grapes — 
African  grapes  :  smooth  and  round,  with  a  glow  of  opaline  light 
in  the  heart  of  them — clusters  that  might  seduce  Erigone. 

1850 — Jan.  1st. — Still  riding  at  anchor  in  this  weary  Simon's 
Bay.  There  is  no  change  whatever  since  I  made  my  last  memo- 
randum— more  than  two  months  ago  ;  and  how  much  longer  we 
may  have  to  stay,  nobody  can  guess.  About  three  weeks  since 
arrived  to  the  governor  a  despatch  from  Earl  Grey,  simply  acknow- 
ledging the  receipt  of  his  alarming  and  objurgatory  despatches  of 
August  last,  and  adding  that  he  will  send  a  final  order  for  the 
further  disposal  of  the  prisoners  on  board  the  Neptune,  "  after  he 
shall  have  heard  of  the  arrival  of  that  ship  at  the  Cape  " — that  is 
to  say,  after  the  prisoners  shall  have  been  five  months  or  so  in  a 
close  unwholesome  prison  here,  recruiting  after  their  five  months' 
voyage.  There  is  something  very  cool  in  tljis.  The  colonists  are 
nearly  frantic  ;  they  made  sure  that,  in  reply  to  Sir  Harry  Smith's 
August  despatches,  would  come  an  order  to  take  the  Neptune 
away ;  and  are  now  mortally  afraid  that  when  the  extreme 
measures  of  the  ultra-party  (denying  victuals  to  the  army,  etc), 
shall  come  to  be  known  in  England,  ministers  will  think  them- 
selves boimd,  for  the  dignity  of  the  Empire  and  the  United 
Service,  and  all  that,  to  coerce  the  Cape  into  receiving  this  one 
shipload  at  least.  A  new  feature  in  pubUc  opinion  here  is,  that  it 
now  pretends  to  commiserate  the  poor  convicts,  so  long  detained 
in  custody  by  Lord  Grey's  cruel  delay.  If  Sir  Harry  Smith,  now, 
had  but  comphed  with  the  urgent  demand  of  these  philanthropists 

•  It  has  not  come  to  light  yet ;  and  one  is  even  inclined  to  hope  that  it 
may  have  miscarried.  Carlyle  cannot  write  rationally  about  Ireland  ;  and 
he  believes  that  Carthage  has  a  mission  to  conquer  the  world.  Bothwell, 
1st  January,  1852 


IIW^W**,^  '5^?'- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  205 

three  months  ago,  and  sent  the  Neptune  to"  cruise  between  this 
and  the  South  Pole,  the  poor  convicts  would  have  seen  the  end  of 
their  sorrows  long  since :  and  the  Neptune,  cruising  there,  in 
secula  seculorum,  would  have  been  a  new  Flying  Dutchman  to 
the  mariners  of  the  south. 

Hungary  is  down — Venice,  Rome,  Baden,  all  down,  and  the 
Kings  and  Grand  Dukes  are  everywhere  rampant — for  the  present. 
In  their  very  rampant  folly  and  fury,  lies  hope  for  the  future. 
Parma — even  Parma,  forbids  people  to  meet  "  under  pretence," 
of  casinos,  circles  and  the  Uke.  The  Austrians  are  hanging  and 
shooting  general  officers,  and  scourging  noble  ladies  on  the  bare 
back.  Kossuth,  the  immortal  governor,  and  Bem,  the  fine  old 
general,  refugees  in  Turkey.  Other  Hungarians  and  Poles  Aying  to 
the  United  States.  Justice  and  right  everywhere  buried  in  blood. 
Has  the  people's  blood  then  been  shed  utterly  in  vain  ?  By  God, 
no  !  The  blood  of  men  fighting  for  freedom  is  never  shed  in  vain 
— the  earth  will  not  cover  it — from  the  ground  it  cries  aloud,  and 
the  avenger  knoweth  his  day  and  his  hour.  Hungary  is  hence- 
forth and  for  ever  a  great  nation — how  much  greater  now  than 
before  her  bloody  agony !  how  much  grander  her  history !  how 
much  richer  her  treasure  of  heroic  memories  !  how  much  surer 
and  higher  her  destiny  !  It  is  through  this  bloody  travail  and 
by  virtue  of  this  baptism  of  fire,  and  only  so,  that  nations 
ever  spring  forth,  great,  generous  and  free.  If  Ireland,  in  '82, 
instead  of  winning  her  independence  from  the  coward  foe  by  the 
mere  flash  of  unbloody  swords,  had,  hke  America,  waded  through 
carnage  to  her  freedom,  Hke  America  she  had  been  free  this  day. 
A  disastrous  war  even,  had  been  better  than  a  triimiphant 
parade.  Indeed,  those  lines  of  Byron  are  profoundly  true  and 
noble : — 

"  For  Freedom's  battle  once  begun, 

Bequeathed  from  bleeding  sire  to  son 

Though  baffled  oft,  is  ever  won." 

Ah  !  then.  Freedom,  once  it  is  fairly  and  dearly  won,  is  no  com- 
modity for  trading  poHticians  to  sell,  as  the  high-minded  chivalry 
of  Ireland  sold  and  dehvered  our  '82  simulacrum  of  Uberty. 

In  the  meantime  it  is  amusing  to  the  mind  to  see  the  self-com- 
placency of  all  Hterary  organs  of  "  Order,"  as  they  call  this 
chained  quiescence. 


206 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


In  India,  the  enemy's  government  are  preparing  for  the  invasion 
of  Cashmere,  no  doubt  to  establish  order  there.  Gholab  Singh 
holds  Cashmere,  and  has  a  fine  army  and  150  pieces  of  cannon. 

But  England  in  Asia  and  England  in  Europe,  are  two  very 
different  things.  In  Europe,  that  truly  civilised  and  Christian 
nation  is  only  offering  her  opinion  ;  and  it  gives  me  sincere 
pleasure  to  remark  how  cordially  that  is  contemned  on  all  sides, 

and  how  the  nations  are  beginning  to  perceive  that  the  old 

cannot  afford  to  fight.  The  London  newspapers  praise  everything 
that  succeeds  :  they  patted  Hungary  on  the  back  for  a  month  or 
two,  but  now  congratulate  Austria  most  warmly,  and  the  Times 
recommends  to  the  Emperor  England's  dealings  towards  Ireland, 
as  an  example  for  his  future  administration  of  Hungarian  affairs. 
By  the  same  rule  they  ridiculed  the  French  excessively  at  first  for 
their  attack  upon  Rome  ;  but  now  find  that,  after  all,  the  cause 
of  the  French  was  the  cause  of  "  Order,"  and  that,  therefore,  it  is 
all  right.  The  anxiety  they  show  to  keep  on  good  terms  with 
France,  especially,  is  highly  diverting  to  the  benevolent  mind 
which  remembers  the  superhuman  friendship  between  France  and 
England  about  the  breaking  out  of  the  great  Revolution.  What 
is  highly  satisfactory  is  that  Europe  is  clearly  beginning  to 
understand  all  this  British  cant  about  "  Peace  "  and  "  Order," 
to  know  that  it  means  simply  credit-funds,  and  the  commercial 
status  quo.  And  Europe  will  act  accordingly.  The  events  of  last 
year  have  brought  the  prestige  of  Britain  immeasurably  and 
irremediably  down.     This  is  good. 

Have  been  reading  the  Quarterly  Review  on  Lyell's  tour  in  North 
America.  The  Quarterly  rejoices,  quite  generously,  in  American 
Art,  and  "  Progress,"  and  so  forth — but  is  mainly  solicitous  that 
the  Americans  should — for  their  own  sake,  of  course — stay  at 
-peace.  "  For,"  says  the  generous  reviewer,  "  As  the  future  of 
America,  to  be  a  glorious  future,  must  be  a  future  of  peace,  so  we 
would  hope  that  it  may  be  fruitful  in  all  which  embelUshes  and 
occupies  and  glorifies  peace." — Most  balmy  language  !  but  was  it 
in  peace,  then,  that  Athens  or  Corinth  grew  great  in  art  ?  Was  it 
in  times  of  peace  that  Holland,  from  a  community  of  clod- 
hoppers, sprang  up  into  a  high-spirited  and  noble  nation,  re- 
nowned in  art  and  in  all  which  embellishes  and  hallows,  et  cetera  ? 
Was  the  age  of  Louis  Fourteenth  an  age  of  peace  to  France ! 


JAIL  JOURNAL  207 

When  the  Italian  cities  were  becoming  the  chosen  home  of  Learn- 
ing, Freedom,  Commerce  {honest  Commerce),  Art,  and  Glory — 
was  there  peace  in  the  land  in  those  days  ?  As  for  America  her- 
self, what  made  America  ?  Was  it  -peace  ?  In  short,  everybody 
in  America  as  well  as  everybody  in  Europe  must  by  this  time 

understand  thoroughly  the  British  peace-cant. 

*  *  *  *  «  * 

I  have  seen  extracts  from  the  new  Nation.  Mr.  Duffy  can 
hardly  find  words  for  his  disgust,  his  contempt,  "  his  utter  loath- 
ing "  of  those  who  will  say  now  that  Ireland  can  win  her  rights 
by  force.  I  thought  so.  The  Times  praises  the  new  Nation,  and 
calls  its  first  article  "  a  symptom  of  returning  sense  in  Ireland." 

The  Ballingarry  folly,  this  Nation  calls  "  an  utterly  unsuccessful 
revolution."  Young  Ireland  calls  upon  his  countrymen  to  accept 
the  defeat  of  Ballingarry.  Ireland's  strength,  he  thinks,  was 
tested  at  Ballingarry.  If  the  country  (says  Young  Ireland)  could 
have  been  saved  by  human  prowess,  hdc  dextrd  fuisset,  at  Ballin- 
garry. Therefore,  Mr.  Duffy  is  for  the  system  of  Irishmen 
growing  individually  independent,  energetic,  and  truthful  men 
(imder  British  rule)- — and  then  when  they  shall  feel,  after  stem 
self-examination,  that  they  are  fit  to  manage  their  own  affairs, 
then  dissolve  the  Union  with  England.  Thus  blasphemes  this 
traitor :   thus  snivels,  rather,  this  most  pitiable  sinner. 

The  Cork  Southern  Reporter  echoes  the  new  Nation,  and  even 
tries  to  go  beyond  it  in  treason.  Mr.  Barry  quarrels  with  Mr. 
Duffy  for  keeping  the  independence  of  Ireland  before  men's  eyes 
even  as  an  ultimate  and  far-distant  object ;  he  is  for  "  putting 
it  in  abeyance,"  that  is,  dropping  it  altogether.  Mr.  Barry, 
therefore,  is  stupid  and  cowardly,  but  not  half  so  dishonest  as 
Mr.  Duffy.  These  poor  creatures  will  soon  have  few  readers 
among  the  country  people.* 

One  number  of  the  Irishman  has  come  to  my  hands  :  it  is  pub- 
lished at  No.  4  D'Olier  Street,  and  by  Fulham ;  and  the  editor  is 

*  I  have  seen  reason  to  believe  that  I  did  injustice  to  Mr.  Barry  in  the 
above.  I  find  that  Mr.  Barry,  after  the  signal  failure  to  make  so  much  as 
an  insurrection  (to  say  nothing  of  a  revolution)  in  '48,  openly,  frankly, 
and  without  any  arriere  peitsie,  gave  up  the  cause  of  Ireland  as  a  distinct 
nationality,  accepted  the  provincial  destiny,  and  concluded  that  Ireland 
must  make  the  best  of  that.  In  freely  avowing  this  change  of  sentiment  he 
was  at  least  not  "  cowardly  " — ^whether  stupid  or  not  will  appear  hereafter, 

-J.  M.  [1854],. 


T^aii  ay  II.  >.  I    ■  -rf^-^i-  «^— .""•  ■  7  -  ^-.-  -  ■-  T-. . ,  -•ja  vw-  -vi  j>-  ^OT--"  J I  IP  iwii  1 1  i,iia  p  ■■  1 1  p(  I V  P^  I  ^m  ■  ■  ■  Ji  I  "■'.'ipv-p*  \i " ,   '<w.<.nsir7nR|in^?!iSV 


r 


208  /.47L  JOURNAL 

Joseph  Brennan.  This  appears  to  be  the  true  representative  of 
the  old  Nation  ;  but  they  have  not  a  proper  staff  of  competent 
writers  for  it.  The  Irishman  professes  to  preach  the  doctrines  of 
me,  J.  M.  If  I  am  their  prophet  and  guide,  I  am  like  to  lead  my 
votaries  and  catechumens  on  a  cruise  to  the  Southern  Ocean — 
aAaSc  {xvirrai.  Yet,  I  know  not.  Mr.  Fulham  is  a  man  of 
business ;  possibly  they  calculate  on  the  jury-packing  system 
being  blown  and  broken  down  ;  and  if  they  be  right  in  that 
calculation,  they  have  the  game  in  their  hands.  I  would  they 
had  two  or  three  dashing  writers  ! 

Last  July,  the  "  Government  "  got  up  a  very  horrid  massacre 
in  the  County  Down.  There  was  a  great  Orange  procession  of 
armed  men  :  they  marched  with  banners  displayed,  through  a 
district  chiefly  inhabited  by  Catholics ;  and  there,  at  Dolly's 
Brae,  between  Castlewellan  and  Banbridge,  a  collision  took  place, 
of  course  :  a  large  force  of  poUce  and  miUtary  was  present,  and 
they  took  part,  also,  of  course,  with  the  Orangemen  :  five  or  six 
Catholics  were  killed,  five  or  six  of  their  houses  burned ;  only 
one  Orangemen  or  two  seriously  hurt — and  the  procession  went 
on  its  way  in  triumph.  Lord  Roden,  it  appears,  had  feasted 
the  Orangemen  at  Bryansford,  and  excited  them  with  "  loyal " 
toasts  ;  and  afterwards,  when  informations  were  sought  against 
the  Orange  rioters  at  the  hands  of  the  said  Lord  Roden,  pre- 
siding at  a  bench  of  magistrates,  he  very  properly  refused.  Very 
properly,  for  there  is  no  law  in  Ireland  now.  I  know  no  reason 
why  Orangemen  should  not  bum  Papists'  houses  now. 

However,  this  demonstration  went  somewhat  beyond  the 
Government  intention — or  they  pretend  that  it  did ;  and  they 
take  Lord  Roden  to  task.  Lord  Roden  justly  feels  this  to  be  a 
piece  of  treachery  as  well  as  insolence — reminds  the  government 
that  they  wanted  a  loyal  demonstration  in  Ulster  this  year.  Well, 
this  is  a  loyal  demonstration.  What  would  they  have  ?  Govern- 
ment, however,  feels  constrained,  by  virtuous  pubUc  opinion,  to 
dismiss  Lord  Roden  and  two  other  rampant  Orangemen  from  the 
Commission  of  the  Peace.* 

In  the  South,  there  is  a  universal  feeling  this  winter  that  the 

*  It  was  proved,  however,  on  the  investigation  into  this  case,  that  the 
Government  had  sent  a  supply  of  arms  shortly  before  to  Belfast,  out  of 
Dublin  Castle,  for  distribution  amongst  the  Orange  Lodges. — J.M. 


•I 


00 


|HPPWiri^(^-"*yp^1(Wi!|<»rT^T^^g!^~<»*f^r^^  Ti-^ir-^^T^-'; 


JAIL  JOURNAL  209 

persons  who  raise  com  ought  to  provide  for  their  own  sustenance 
before  any  other  charge,  even  rent :  it  is  called  a  horrid  conspftacy 
in  the  newspapers  :  the  country  people  meet  by  night  in  armed 
parties,  and  carry  off  grain,  etc.,  to  places  of  safety,  leaving  the 
bailiffs  and  poor-rate  collectors  to  mourn  over  empty  haggards. 
They  also  beat  off,  or  shoot,  or  stab  the  poUce,  when  those  func- 
tionaries interfere.  All  this  also  is  quite  right.  The  people  know 
now  that  there  is  no  law  in  Ireland,  no  property,  no  rights  :  they 
are  in  a  state  of  nature,  and  they  know  it  at  last.  Any  other 
nation  in  Europe,  under  similar  circumstances,  would  have 
recognised  that  fact  three  years  ago. 

Jan.  i^ih. — It  blew  a  hard  gale  from  the  S.E.  last  night :  this 
morning  a  strange  ship,  with  only  one  mast  standing,  was  seen 
deeply  bedded  in  the  sands  here  in  Simon's  Bay.  She  had  been 
driven  in  during  the  night.  Turns  out  to  be  a  slaver,  captured 
in  the  Mozambique  channel,  and  sent  here  under  charge  of  a 
naval  officer.  She  will  be  allowed  to  go  to  pieces  where  she  lies, 
and  her  materials  will  be  sold. 

This  is  surely  the  stormiest  coast  in  the  world — the  wind  at 
this  season  almost  constantly  from  the  S.E.,  and  once  in  ten  days 
there  is  always  a  turious  storm.  During  calms  the  weather  is 
very  hot  now  :  I  trust  I  am  not  to  spend  another  Christmas  in 
light  clothes,  panting  under  an  awning.  I  wish  the  southern 
hemisphere  well,  but  shall  not  take  up  my  abode  here  if  I  can  help 
it.  I  respect  the  Southern  Cross,  but  pray  that  my  own  destiny 
may  be  cast  under  Arcturus  and  his  suns.  All  the  traditions 
and  associations  of  times  and  seasons  are  reversed  and  con- 
founded here :  think  of  May  morning  faUing  at  Hallowmas  ! — 
and  instead  of  burning  a  yule-log,  wooing  thorough  draughts 
and  hiding  from  the  flagrant  sun  at  Christmas !  What  becomes 
of  St.  Swithin  and  his  showers  ?     Of  Candlemas  and  its  ice  ? 

Si  Sol  splendescat  Maria  purificante 

Major  erit  glacies  post  festum  quam  fuit  ante. 

What  a  wrong-sided  view  of  Christianity  you  get  in  these 
parts !  Why,  the  apple-trees  are  in  blossom  at  Halloweve,  and 
on  St.  John's  Day  men  wear  thick  greatcoats  in  the  house. 

Besides,  there  is  no  action,  no  living,  properly  to  speak,  in  a 
country  so  remote  fronj  all  the  great  centre§  of  this  world'§ 


210  JAIL  JOURNAL 

business  :  whatever  is  done  here  can  only  be  said  to  be  inchoate, 
provisional,  and  not  a  perfect  act,  until  news  of  it  go  to  England, 
and  an  answer  return.  You  address  yourself  to  the  public  opinion 
of  your  countrymen  through  the  newspapers,  and  for  three 
months  your  eloquent  remarks  lie  frozen,  or  if  not  frozen,  at 
least  sodden,  in  the  "  region  of  calms,"  and  the  sultry  trade 
winds — it  is  all  the  same — your  countrymen  do  not  hear  a  word 
you  say  until  the  whole  affair  is  months  old,  and  when  the  result 
of  your  appeal  comes  to  hand,  perhaps  you  are  dead.  You  are 
three  months  in  arrear  of  events,  and  will  never  come  up  with 
them — panting  steam  toils  after  them  in  vain.  Heavens  !  while 
I  sit  scribbling  here,  there  may  be  a  European  campaign  half 
fought  out- — the  credit  funds  may  be  burst — Changamier  or 

Oudinot  may  be  in  Buckingham  Palace — Tipperary  nfiay  be . 

In  short^ — in  short — it  will  never  do,  wasting  time  here,  pretending 
to  be  alive  on  what  Milton  calls  the  backside  of  the  world.  If  I 
am  put  ashore  within  the  Colony,  under  whatsoever  vigilance  of 
custody,  it  will  go  hard,  but  I  will  revisit  the  glimpses  of  the 
moon.    But  be  still,  O  my  soul ! 

The  agitation  and  excitement  here  still  continue  as  violent  as 
the  newspapers  and  Anti-Convict  Association  can  contrive  to 
make  them  ;  but  with  all  they  can  do  there  is  evidently  an  abate- 
ment from  the  original  fervour  of  anti-convict  rage,  though  none 
whatever  in  the  universal  determination  to  adhere  to  the  pledge, 
in  its  strictest  letter,  if  Graaf  Grey  should  ultimately  order  the 
convicts  to  be  landed.  Meanwhile  we  all  await  the  Downing  Street 
doom,  and  I,  at  least,  with  perfect  equanimity  and  good  humour. 
It  was  on  the  12th  of  October  {three  months  ago  yesterday),  that 
the  Eurydice  frigate  sailed  out  of  this  Bay  bearing  intelUgence 
which  was  expected  to  eUcit  Lord  Grey's  final  despatch  ;  and  it  is 
therefore  possible  that  the  mystic  packet  of  red-tape  destiny  is  now 
off  Madeira,  or  Ascension,  or  beating  to  windward  near  the  coast 
of  Brazil,  or  scudding  to  leeward  under  close-reefed  topsails  in  the 
latitude  of  Tristan  d'Acunha.  Or  the  ship  may  have  gone  down 
with  the  red-tape  in  her — or  the  Eurydice  herself  may  have  been 
lost  on  her  way  home.  Ah !  miseram  Eurydicen !  Or  the 
Ministry  may  have  gone  out,  and  the  new  Colonial  Secretary  will 
know  nothing  about  it — must  have  a  correspondence  with  the 
Cape  before  be  can  decide  anything ;  a  few  half  years,  more  or 


JAIL  JOURNAL  211 

less,  will  make  little  difference  to  a  crew  of  convicts.    Did  ever 
human  destiny  hang  before  on  so  precarious  a  tape  ? 

As  to  the  place  we  are  likely  to  be  sent  to,  if  not  landed  here, 
conjectures  are  numerous  and  wild.  The  favourite  guess  now 
seems  to  be  that  the  Neptune  is  to  make  a  beginning  of  a  new 
penal  colony  in  N6w  Guinea,  among  the  Papua  cannibals.  At 
the  Cape,  or  at  New  Guinea,  our  reception  promises  to  be  equally 
hospitable — here  the  people  would  give  us  nothing  to  eat- — there 
they  would  feed  us  indeed,  but  only  to  fatten  us  for  their  own 
tables.     These  are  cheering  speculations. 

I  have  omitted  to  make  a  regular  record  of  the  "  anti-convict 
movements  "  ;  for,  in  fact,  there  is  so  much  sameness  in  them  that 
I  tire  of  reading  the  papers.  The  symptoms  of  a  chronic  disorder, 
being  the  same  every  morning,  would  not  be  interesting  to  read 
of.  But  from  yesterday's  Commercial  Advertiser  I  will  copy  two 
letters,  the  reading  of  which,  and  consultation  thereupon,  formed 
part  of  the  business  of  the  Association  at  its  last  meeting : — 

"  Sir, — About  the  month  of  October  last  I  sent  three  waggons 
of  mine,  with  sheaves,  to  the  town-market.  On  their  arrival  there 
a  young  man  of  colour  came  and  offered  my  children  a  reasonable 
price  (without  mentioning  what  it  was  for)  ;  but  when  the  bargain 
was  closed,  he  would  show  where  the  waggons  were  to  be  un- 
loaded. The  waggons  were  subsequently  brought  by  that  lad 
to  New  Street,  behind  the  residence  of  Adrian  Beck ;  and 
when  they  were  unloaded,  Adrian  Beck  made  his  appearance, 
and  paid  for  the  sheaves.  My  children  have,  consequently, 
sinned  innocently,  because,  as  the  bargain  had  been  already 
concluded,  and  the  best  part  of  the  sheaves  deUvered,  they  had 
no  alternative.  But  this  had,  however,  the  effect  that  my 
children  were  placed  under  the  pledge,  as  also  myself,  with  a  wife 
and  young  children.  This  has  gone  to  the  extent  that  no  one 
will  buy  from,  or  sell  to  them  or  me.  And  moreover,  I  have  in 
consequence  been  summoned  by  one  of  my  creditors,  who,  but 
for  this  occurrence,  would  not  have  done  so.  I  therefore  beg 
leave  to  pray  you,  as  chairman  of  the  Anti-Convict  Association, 
to  bring  my  case  before  your  meeting,  and  kindly  to  decide  in 
my  behalf,  in  order  to  prevent  my  total  ruin.  Expecting  a 
favourable  answer,  I  remain,  etc., 

■'  WeNT^E^  PiETER  jLAUBSPPEJl,'' 


212  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Poor  Laubscher  lives  in  the  district  of  Stellenbosch  ;  and  the 
Association  have  simply  referred  him  and  his  complaint  to  the 
local  authorities,  that  is  to  the  Stellenbosch  Branch  Association. 
The  truth  is,  Mynheer  Laubscher' s  account  of  himself  is  not 
satisfactory  :  he  was  bound,  or  his  innocently  sinful  children 
were  bound,  to  be  sure  they  were  not  selling  their  sheaves  to  a 
traitor  ;  and  Adrian  Beck  is  a  well-known  suppUer  of  convicts 
and  government :  I  know  his  name  as  the  name  of  a  "  bad 
member"  months  ago  ;  and  while  I  eat  his  bread  and  beef  I 
denounce  him  as  a  traitor. 

The  other  letter  is  from  Hendrick  Johannes  Morkel : — 

Sir, — It  is  with  great  reluctance  that  I  again  trouble  you,  but 
circumstances  render  it  unavoidable.  You  are  aware,  sir,  that 
for  an  alleged  violation  of  the  pledge  all  intercourse  was  dropped 
with  me  by  the  public.  When  I  perceived  it,  immediate  steps 
were  taken  by  me  to  disprove  the  charges  thus  falsely  laid  against 
me,  and  satisfy  the  public  mind  that  I  was  perfectly  innocent  of 
what  I  was  accused  of.  I  apphed  to  the  Anti-Convict  Association 
of  Hottentots  Holland  for  the  privilege  of  having  my  case  in- 
quired into  ;  and,  if  foimd  innocent,  to  be  restored  to  pubUc 
favour.  This,  my  appUcation,  has  been  entirely  disregarded ; 
and  I  find  that  I  can  no  longer  endure  the  pain  of  pubUc  con- 
tempt, whilst  I  sincerely  regret  any  proceeding  of  mine  which 
may  have  been  construed  into  an  act  of  disrespect  for  the  opinion 
of  the  public ;  and  being  desirous  of  granting  all  my  influence 
and  support  to  the  Anti-Convict  Association,  in  order  to  aid  the 
people  in  accomplishing  this  grand  object,  I  beg  to  request  that 
the  A.-C.  Association  of  Capetown,  as  the  parent  of  all  the  other 
Associations,  will  cause  the  necessary  inquiries  to  be  made  into 
my  case,  and  to  see  justice  done  to  one  of  its  true  members. 

"  I  have,  etc., 

"  H.  J.  Morkel." 

With  this  letter  came  a  certificate,  signed  by  the  delinquent's 
father,  solemnly  declaring  that  the  "  sheep  were  sold  "  under  a 
mistake. — Referred,  as  before,  to  the  local  association. 

See  how  "  public  contempt "  brings  this  fellow  to  his  knees! 
He  is  ready  to  sink  into  the  earth  at  the  imputation  of  so 


JAIL  JOURNAL  213 

shameful  a  crime  as  being  loyal  to  Downing  Street  and  traitor 
to  the  Cape. 

Thus  public  opinion  with  a  high  hand  rules  the  Cape. 
How,  in  the  meantime,  the  governor  and  commodore  get  their 
supphes  I  know  not ;  but  so  it  is,  they  eat  and  hve.  And  as 
for  the  convicts,  I  wish  the  unconvicted  Irish  could  keep 
half  so  good  a  table. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

January  20th,  1850 — On  board  the  "  Neptune,"  Simon's  Bay.— 
Matters  go  on  as  before.  The  colonists  await  the  Downing  Street 
award  :  and  so  do  I.  But  there  is  feverish  impatience  and  expect- 
ancy ashore  ;  and  no  wonder.  What  a  terrible  new  element 
convictism  will  be  to  this  colony  if  the  red-tape  rascals  succeed 
in  forcing  it  on  !  But  the  people  seem  to  be  girding  themselves 
up  to  prepare  for  the  worst — providing  door-bolts  and  locks,  also 
rifles  and  ammimition,  with  commendable  diUgence.  A  good 
clergyman  of  Simonstown — why  should  I  not  name  the  worthy 
fellow  ? — Mr.  Judge,  who  comes  to  see  me  sometimes,  has  assured 
me  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  even  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Capetown,  seldom  secure  their  houses  at  night  by  barring  the 
door  or  otherwise :  and  when  he  speaks  of  the  bare  possibility  of 
these  three  hundred  choice  miscreants,  who  have  graduated  in 
burglary  and  thievery  in  the  finest  schools  on  earth,  being  let 
loose  among  his  parishioners,  tears  of  indignation  and  appre- 
hension stand  in  his  eyes.     I  trust  the  evil  day  may  be  averted. 

Feb.  8th. — No  despatch  yet ;  and  we  have  been  rocking  here  in 
Simon's  Bay,  "  wearing  the  ring  of  our  anchor,"  as  the  captain 
says,  nearly  five  months.  Oh  !  thou  despatch  of  heaven,  rise 
upon  our  darkness  like  a  star !  let  thy  red-tape  dawn  upon  us 
out  of  the  northern  wave  ?  I  am  tired  of  the  Cape  :  for  the 
vintage  season  is  long  past ;  and  I  can  no  longer  have  my  usual 
breakfast  of  grapes  and  coffee. 

A  few  days  ago  there  was  an  alarm — a  large  black-hulled 
steamship,  like  a  man-of-war,  appeared  rounding  the  south- 
western point  of  False  Bay.  I  thought  I  recognised  the  Scourge, 
the  very  pirate  craft  that  carried  me  to  Bermuda,  two  years  ago. 
Our  despatch  at  last,  thought  everyone.  The  captain  of  the 
Neptune,  the  "  surgeon-superintendent,"  the  naval  people  on 
shore,  all  made  sure  that  suspense  would  be  at  an  end  in  half 
an  hour.  Signal  flags  carry  the  news  flying  over  the  mountains 
and  Constantia  vineyards,  to  Capetown.    Now,  ye  anti-convict 

214 


JAIL  JOURNAL  215 

leaders,  what  if  the  crisis  is  upon  you  ?  what  if  Lord  Grey  have 
sent  out  positive  orders  to  land  the  bandits,  and  an  additional 
regiment  of  soldiers  to  look  on  ?  How  beats  the  general  pulse 
at  the  Town  Hall  this  morning  ?  Turns  the  cheek  of  Fairbaim 
pale  or  red  ?     I  could  almost  wish  to  see  the  issue  tried. 

But  the  ship  turns  out  to  be  the  Hindostan,  a  Red  Sea  steamer, 
returning  from  London,  where  she  has  been  newly  refitted.  And 
she  brings  no  despatches. 

Sir  Harry  Smith  has  not  issued  his  government  paper-money 
— if  he  did,  I  believe  nobody  would  take  it  at  any  price.  Never 
was  a  nominal  government  before  brought  to  such  a  state  of  con- 
tempt. One  thing  is  said  to  gall  the  fine  old  soldier  terribly ; 
the  colonists  had  a  project  lately  of  erecting  at  Capetown  a  marble 
statue  of  the  hero  of  AUwal,  the  Pacificator  of  the  Caflfir  frontier  ; 
and  subscriptions  were  opened  for  it  in  all  districts.  The  con- 
tributors are  now  everywhere  changing  the  destination  of  the 
money,  and  transferring  it  from  the  statue  fund  to  the  Anti-Con- 
vict Association.  The  man  who  would  not  send  the  Neptune 
straight  to  sea  again,  the  very  moment  of  her  arrival,  shall 
have  no  statue  in  South  Africa.  But  nothing  has  so  perfectly 
convinced  me  of  the  impotence  of  the  government,  and  omni- 
potence of  people,  as  certain  legal  proceedings  that  have  lately 
taken  place. 

A  Mr.  Letterstedt  brought  an  action  of  damages  against  Fair- 
baim and  others,  members  of  the  A.-C.  Association,  for  having 
published  his  name  and  pointed  him  out  for  pubUc  vengeance, 
and  so  injured  him  in  his  business :  he  claimed  £5,000.  The 
Attorney-General,  Mr.  Porter  (an  Irish  lawyer  and  very  able  man) 
was  his  leading  counsel.  The  case  excited  intense  interest,  as  so 
many  other  cases  must  stand  or  fall  with  it.  But  when  it  came 
on  for  hearing  before  the  thre^  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  (in 
civil  cases  there  are  no  juries),  the  defendants  decUned  the  juris- 
diction of  the  court,  on  the  ground  that  two  of  the  three  judges 
had  already  prejudged  the  case,  because  they  had  given  their 
opinion  to  the  government  that  it  would  be  illegal  for  him  to  send 
away  the  "  Neptune "  by  his  own  authority.  So  preposterous  a 
ground  of  dechnature  never  was  heard  of  in  any  court ;  and  so 
the  Attorney-General  clearly  proved ;  and  so  it  was  ruled  by  the 
majority  of  the  judges,  that  is  by  the  two  who  were  excepted 


2t6  JAiL  JOURNAL 

against ;  whereupon  the  third,  one  Musgrave,  Said  he  was  not 
siatisfied)  and  that  he  would  not  sit  with  the  other  two  to  try  the 
case.  And  now  comes  the  best  part  of  the  story  :  Mr.  Musgrave 
having  retired,  the  other  two  were  to  proceed  with  the  trial,  and 
appointed  a  day.  On  the  day  appointed,  the  defendzints  with- 
drew their  plea — they  would  make  no  defence — ^would  not,  even 
by  their  presence,  countenance  any  judicial  proceedings  of  govern- 
ment judges,  convict  judges,  judges  who  found  law  against  sending 
the  Neptune  away — they  would  just  let  these  evil  bandit  judges 
decide  as  they  pleased,  and  would  carry  the  whole  affair  before  the 
Queen  in  Council^ — then  the  Attorney-General  was  to  proceed  ex- 
parte,  making  no  doubt  of  heavy  damages  for  his  client.  Another 
adjournment  of  the  court  took  place,  and  on  the  next  morning, 
Mr.  Attorney  comes  into  court  with  a  long  countenance — an- 
nounces that  his  cUent,  Mr.  Letterstedt,  will  not  proceed  with  his 
action.  Neither  plaintiff  nor  defendants,  on  maturely  considering 
the  matter,  will  hold  any  communications  with  Sir  Harry  Smith's 
judges — who  had  dreamed  of  law  against  sending  away  the 
Neptune. 

In  other  words,  the  case  was  removed  from  the  Supreme  Court 
to  the  new  Super-Supreme  Court  of  Public  Opinion,  by  certiorari. 
The  Anti-Convict  Association  is  now  the  Court  of  First  Instance 

and  of  Last  Resort  in  South  Africa. 

•  *  •  «  *  * 

I  have  been  very  ill  again  for  the  last  two  months-^the  same 
damnable  asthma  :  nearly  as  bad  as  at  Bermuda,  but  not  quite. 
It  is  the  close  imprisonment,  I  think,  and  the  suspense,  and  want 
of  exciting  occupation,  that  give  the  foul  fiend  such  power  over 
me. 

Feb.  loth. — The  Cape  papers  give  extracts  from  Van  Diemen's 
Land  papers,  by  which  I  find  that  CBrien,  Meagher,  O'Donoghue, 
and  MacManus,  in  the  Swift,  and  Martin  and  O'Doherty  in  the 
Eiphinstone,  all  arrived  at  Hobart  Town  about  the  same  time — 
that  they  have  been  allowed  to  Uve  at  large,  but  each  within  a 
limited  district,  and  no  two  of  them  nearer  than  thirty  or  forty  miles. 
Even  to  be  admitted  to  thus  much  Hberty,  each  was  required  to 
promise  that  he  would  not  make  use  of  it  to  effect  his  escape. 
O'Brien  refuses  to  give  this  promise,  and  is,  therefore,  sent  to  a 
small  island  off  the  coast,  named  Maria  Island,  which  is  appropri- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  217 

ated  to  the  most  desperate  convicts.  It  is  not  easy  to  understand 
the  object  of  so  carefully  separating  the  prisoners,  and  planting 
each  by  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  felonious  population,  unless  it 
be,  by  depriving  them  of  one  another's  society,  to  force  them  into 
association  with  such  miscreants  as  they  are  Ukely  to  meet,  that 
so  they  may  become  at  last  the  felons  their  enemies  caU  them.  Or, 
possibly,  it  is  done  with  a  view  to  more  easily  reducing  them  singly 
to  submission.  "  Government,"  of  course,  would  Uke  to  bring  \3^ 
all  to  our  knees,  and  present  us  in  the  attitude  of  begging  pardon. 
And  if  these  men  were  allowed  to  live  together,  they  might  sup- 
port one  another's  spirits,  arid  speak  disaiiected  words,  and 
possibly  even  hatch  seditious  schemes  for  future  practice.  Now, 
it  is  hoped  that,  surrounded  by  strangers,  never  hearing  or  seeing^ 
anything  to  remind  them  of  their  cause  and  comrades,  and  almost 
forgetting  the  sound  of  their  own  voices,  they  may  grow  weary  of 
their  Uves,  their  spirit  may  bow  or  break,  and  they  may  crawl  to  the 
foot  of  her  Gracious  Majesty's  throne.  My  Lords  Grey  and  Russell 
and  Clarendon  we  will  try  conclusions  with  you  in  this  matter. 

But  the  lot  of  these  men  is  hard  and  cruel :  and  I  now  expect 
that  it  will  be  my  lot  also.  Whatever  "  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment "  may  do  with  these  poor  Neptune  convicts,  my  destiny,  I 
feel  assured,  will  be  an  allocation  in  some  remote  Van  Diemen's 
Land  pohce  district — to  Uve  there  alone,  as  best  I  may,  breathing 
the  miasma  of  that  most  hideous  den,  that  so  I  may  cease  to  do 
evil  and  learn  to  do  well.* 

Feb.  i^th. — I  knew  it.  Lord  Grey's  despatches  have  arrived, 
gaptain  of  the  flag-ship  came  on  board  here  to-day,  accom- 
panied by  some  naval  officers.  He  took  his  stand  on  the 
quarter-deck  at  the  capstan ;  and  the  prisoners  were  ordered 
up  from  below  to  hear  their  fate.  I  was  walking  on  the  poop, 
and  stopped  at  the  rail  a  few  minutes  looking  down  at  the 
scene.  The  men  poured  aft  as  far  as  the  gangway  in  gloomy 
masses,  some  scowhng  black,  some  pale  as  death ;  and  when 
Captain  Bance  unfolded  his  papers  the  burliest  burglar  held  his 
breath  for  a  time.  Neptune  to  proceed  forthwith  to  Van  Die- 
men's  Land  ;  on  arrival  there  prisoners  to  receive  (in  compensa- 

*  "  Cease  to  do  Evil — ^Learn  to  do  Well  "  was  the  inscription  set  above 
Richmond  Prison,  Dublin  wherein  O'Connell  and  the  Traversers,  and, 
later,  some  of  the  Young  Irelanders  were  confined.'— Ed. 


2i8  JAIL  JOURNAL 

tion  for  the  hardships  of  their  long  voyage  and  detention)  her 
Gracious  Majesty's  "  conditional  pardon  " — except  "  the  prisoner 
Mitchel,"  whose  case.  Lord  Grey  says,  being  entirely  different  from 
all  the  others,  is  reserved  for  separate  consideration,  but  special 
instructions  respecting  it  are  to  be  forwarded  to  the  governor  of 
Van  Diemen's  Land.  When  the  reader  came  to  the  exception  of 
"the  prisoner  Mitchel,"  he  raised  his  voice,  and  spoke  with 
impressive  solemnity.  In  a  moment  all  eyes,  of  officers, 
sailors,  prisoners,  soldiers,  were  fastened  on  my  face ;  if  they 
read  an5rthing  but  scorn,  then  my  face  beUed  my  heart. 

So  it  nms — I  am  to  spend  certaifi  years,  then,  among  the  gum- 
trees  in  grim  solitude — utter  solitude,  for  I  cannot  bear  to  think 
of  bringing  out  my  poor  wife  to  those  regions  of  outer  darkness, 
or  rearing  up  my  boys  in  that  island  of  the  unblessed  :  I  will  be 
lonely,  with  a  soUtude  that  Zimmermann  never  dreamed  of, 
loneher  than  "  a  corpse  within  its  shroud  " — for  I  must  make  to 
myself,  as  it  were,  a  shell  to  walk  in,  and  present  porcupine  quills 
on  all  sides  to  the  beings  in  human  shape  who  will  there  flit  around 
me — for  that  is  a  land  where  men  are  transfonured  into  brutes — 
"  let  a  man  be  what  he  will  when  he  goes  there,  a  man's  heart 
is  taken  away  from  him,  and  there  is  given  to  him  the  heart  of  a 
beast."  And  of  the  whole  population  of  V.  D.  Land,  more  than 
three-fourths  are  convicts,  or  emancipated  convicts,  or  the  children 
of  convicts,  begotten  in  felony,  and  brought  up  in  the  feeUng  that 
their  hand  must  be  against  every  man,  as  every  man's  hand  is 
against  them.  Oh  !  I  descend  into  the  realms  of  Dis — my  ears 
hear  already  the  rushing  of  Cocytus  flood,  and  the  waiUng  of* 
damned  spirits  thereon.  Be  strong  now,  and  be  calm  and  humble 
withal,  O  my  soul !  Let  what  tincture  df  philosophy  soever  I 
have  drawn  in  my  eclectic  method  from  Porch,  from  Garden,  from 
Grove,  yea,  from  Moimt  of  OUves,  too,  let  all  stand  by  me  now. 
Let  me  provide  the  charm  of  mild  words  and  demeanour,  a 
demulcent  sop  for  the  three-headed  dog  ;  but  towards  the  great 
enemy — the  grand  government  necromancer,  who  keeps  those 
gardens  of  hell,  let  my  face  be  as  marble,  my  heart  as  adamant. 
So  may  Almighty  God  preserve  me  in  my  human  shape,  and 
when  my  infernal  pilgrimage  is  done,  lead  me  forth  again  to 
upper  air  through  the  Gate  of  Horn. 

But  this  is  mythology — in  plain  EngUsh,  I  will  root  myself 


JAIL  JOURNAL  219 

somehow  in  the  earth,  and  daily  dig  and  delve  there,  holding  as 
little  intercourse  as  possible  with  the  people  around  me,  but 
showing  no  pride  or  ill-will  to  them — only  to  the  "  Government," 
and  so  pass  through  this  ordeal  as  quietly  and  gallantly  as 
I  may. 

i^th. — I  have  seen  some  English  papers  :  this  Cape  affair  has 
caused  wonderful  excitement  and  indignation  :  a  horrid  insult  has 
been  offered  to  the  supreme  Majesty  of  England — ^not  to  speak  of 
the  savage  inhumanity  of  refusing  victuals  to  the  pubhc  services, 
and  to  the  poor  sea-beaten  convicts.  England  does  not,  of  course, 
charge  herself  with  all  this ;  yet  she,  or  her  Government,  is  the  only 
party  guilty  of  inhumanity,  and  of  treachery  (which  is  worse),  in 
attempting  to  run  such  a  cargo  as  this  :  all  the  consequences  re- 
sulted necessarily  from  that  villainy.  And  the  colonists  are  not 
only  justified  in  refusing  provisions  to  the  servants  and  soldiers 
of  such  a  government,  but  would  been  have  justified  in  cutting 
all  their  throats. 

I  can  find  in  these  papers  hardly  anjrthing  relating  to  Ireland. 
Ireland,  I  do  fear,  is  too  quiet.  The  "  Government  "  papers  speak 
of  that  country  now  as  a  piece  of  absolute  property  that  has  fallen 
into  them,  and  as  to  which  they  have  only  to  consider  how  best 
it  is  to  be  turned  to  their  advantage.  If  the  country  were  not 
lying  a  dead  corpse  at  their  feet,  would  the  Times  venture  to  ex- 
press itself  thus — the  worthy  Tim^s  is  commenting  on  Lord 
Roden's  dismissal,  and  recoimting  what  painful  but  needful 
measures  the  "  Imperial  Government "  has  been  taking  for  Ire- 
land of  late.  "  Law,"  says  the  Times,  "  has  ridden  rough-shod 
through  Ireland :  it  has  been  taught  with  bayonets,  and  inter- 
preted with  ruin.  Townships  levelled  with  the  ground,  straggling 
columns  of  exiles,  workhouses  multipUed  and  still  crowded, 
express  the  full  determination  of  the  legislature  to  rescue  Ireland 
from  its  slovenly  barbarism,  and  to  plant  the  institutions  of  this 
more  civilised  land." 

Here  is  the  tone  in  which  these  most  infamous  Government 
scribblers  (who  do,  however,  scribble  the  mind  of  the  Govern- 
ment), presume  to  speak  of  Ireland.  And  the  clearance  devasta- 
tions are  evidently  as  determined  as  ever :  and  there  is  no  law 
in  the  land  in  these  days  ;  and  the  O'Connell-Duffys  are  preach- 
ing constitutional  agitation  ;    and  the  Orangemen  are  crjdng. 


220  JAIL  JOURNAL 

"  To  hell  with  the  Pope,"  and  the  CathoUc  bishops  are  testifying 
their  loyalty  ;  and  Murder  and  Famine  and  Idiocy  are  dancing 
an  obscene  Carmagnole  among  the  corpses.  "  Of  a  surety," 
exclaimed  Don  Juan  D'Aguila, "  Christ  never  died  for  this  people." 

lyth. — ^There  is  an  urgent  hurry  here  to  get  the  Neptune  to  sea : 
the  commodore  has  been  kept  in  the  bay  for  the  last  four  months, 
when  he  ought  to  have  been  cruising  in  the  Mozambique  Channel, 
because  the  governor  would  not  let  him  go  while  we  stayed,  and 
while  there  was  danger  of  disturbance  at  the  Cape.  He  sends  a 
party  of  his  sailors  now  every  day  to  the  Neptune,  to  hasten  the 
storing  and  provisioning  :  we  may  probably  sail  to-morrow. 

There  is  great  rejoicing  at  Capetown — a  reconciliation  of  parties; 
moderates  and  immoderates  burying  their  differences.  There  are 
to  be  high  public  rejoicings,  a  grand  dinner,  and  illuminations, 
such  as  South  Africa  has  never  yet  beheld ;  Capetown  has  for 
years  been  lighted  with  gas,  and  on  the  night  after  we  have  set 
sail  (not  before,  for  they  would  not  insult  the  poor  convicts)  the 
southern  firmament  is  to  be  startled  by  a  splendour  that  will  out- 
blaze  Fomalhaut  and  the  bright  star  of  Ara.  I  have  got  the 
Cape  newspapers,  with  their  advertising  columns  full  of  "  the 
Dinner,"  "  the  Illuminations,"  in  large  capitals.  Here  are  my 
last  extracts  from  the  South  African  Press — 

PUBLIC  REJOICINGS 
Fireworks  may  be  had,  wholesale  or  retail,  at  G.  Ashley's. 

THE  ILLUMINATIONS 
Composition    candles — ^Large    stock — ^which,    for    the    present    joyful 
occasion,  will  be  sold  at  low  prices. 

Lord  Grey's  despatches  have  been  pubUshed  by  the  governor  : 
they  are  very  long,  partly  apologetic,  and  partly  expostulatory, 
altogether  shuffling.  It  is  quite  clear  that  he  expected  this  resist- 
ance, and  was  fully  aware  both  of  the  existence  and  extent  of 
the  feeUng  here  against  his  measure,  but  persisted  in  it,  with 
the  hope  of  overbearing  ever5rthing  by  Government  authority 
and  influence.  Indeed,  he  never  denies  that  he  was  aware  of 
all  the  facts  in  time  to  prevent  the  Neptune  from  leaving 
Bermuda :  for  he  only  says  they  came  to  his  knowledge  after 
orders  had  been  given  to  the  Neptune  to  sail — that  is,  from 
London,  with  her  cargo  to  Bermuda.    He  is  a  monstrous  rogue. 

Three  o'clock  in  the  morning. — I  have  been  walking  aU  night 


JAIL  JOURNAL  221 

on  the  deck,  enjoying  a  most  lovely  night,  and  taking  my  last 
look  of  Africa.  So  the  contest  is  over,  and  the  colonists  may 
now  proceed  about  their  peaceful  business,  with  no  worse 
enemies  to  disquiet  them  than  the  Caffirs  and  the  panthers. 
May  their  vineyards  and  corn-fields  be  fruitful  to  them  while 
the  sun  visits  Capricorn !  Long  may  they  sleep  in  peace, 
without  bolt  or  lock  on  their  hospitable  doors !  and  travel 
over  kloof  and  karroo  with  the  bullock-whip  for  their  sufficient 
weapon !  Most  hesirtily  I  congratulate  the  Cape  on  the  fearful 
importation  she  has  escaped. 

I  watched  the  sun  set  behind  the  hills ;  and  his  last  purple 
gleams  blushing  on  the  peaks  of  distant  mountains,  turning 
every  splintered  cUff  into  a  perfect  amethyst.  And  well  I  know 
within  the  foldings  of  those  amethystine  ridges  lie  many  emerald 
vales  ;  and  to  the  good  people  who  dwell  there,  the  feet  of  those 
who  cany  this  day's  tidings  will  be  beautiful  upon  the  mount£iins. 
Morning  will  dawn  to-morrow  on  the  proudest  day  South  Africa 
has  yet  beheld. 

"  Adieu  I  the  Orient  glimmers  afar, 
And  the  Morning  Star 
Anon  will  rise  over  Madagascar  brightly." 

[I  wonder  whether  the  Cape  knows  FreiUgrath's  glorious  Cape 
ballad.]    Good-night  Africa ! 

19/A. — ^We  sail  this  day :  the  wind  full  against  us,  blowing 
straight  up  the  bay :  no  matter — the  commodore  has  sent  the 
Geyser  war-steamer  to  tow  us  out.  We  have  got  the  hawser  fixed, 
and  are  moving  slowly  out  of  Simon's  Bay,  and  down  the  broad 
expanse  of  False  Bay.  The  mountains  are  fading  behind  us. 
Another  continent  has  arisen  from  the  sea  before  me,  and  now 
Africa  vanishes  too.     Shall  I  ever  set  foot  upon  dry  land  more  ? 

April  4th,  1850. — It  is  more  than  a  month  since  I  made  my 
last  entry  in  this  dreary  log-book.  All  this  time  we  have  been 
going  straight  before  the  wind,  which  is  always  westerly  in  this 
southern  ocean,  along  the  parallel  of  46°  south  latitude,  and  often 
at  the  rate  of  200  miles  a  day.  They  say  we  are  nearing  Van 
Diemen's  Land. 

I  have  been  very  ill  all  the  time  ;  and  grow  worse.  Seafaring 
has  become  a  horror  to  me,  for  it  is  more  than  eleven  months  since 
I  came  on  board  this  ship  of  evil  omen,  "  rigged  with  curses," 


222  .     JAIL  JOURNAL 

freighted  with  hell — and  I  long  to  touch  some  shore,  were  it  even 
the  New  Jerusalem,  where  there  shall  be  no  more  sea.  The  mob 
of  prisoners  on  board,  as  I  look  down  over  them  from  my  solitary 
walk  on  the  poop,  seem  in  high  spirits,  at  the  thought  of  being  all 
landed  free,  in  a  magnificent  new  country,  where  the  cUmate  is 
matchless,  and  labour  is  highly  paid.  They  look  at  me  with  a 
sort  of  respectful  pity  ;  and  doubtless  think  my  crimes  must  have 
been  enormously  villainous  indeed  to  merit  the  distinguished 
consideration  of  being  singly  excepted  from  their  imiversal 
emancipation. 

dth. — ^The  mountainous  southern  coast  of  Van  Diemen's  Land  ! 
It  is  a  soft  blue  day  ;  soft  airs,  laden  with  all  the  fragrances  ^f 
those  antarctic  woods,  weave  an  atmosphere  of  ambrosia  around 
me.  As  we  coast  cdong  over  the  placid  waters,  passing  promontory 
after  promontory,  wooded  to  the  water's  edge,  and  "  glassing  their 
ancient  glories  in  the  flood,"  both  sea  and  land  seem  to  bask  and 
rejoice  in  the  sunshine.  Old  Ocean  smiles — that  multitudinous 
rippling  laugh  seen  in  vision  by  the  chained  Prometheus.  Even 
my  own  sick  and  weary  soul  (so  kind  and  bounteous  is  our 
Mother  Earth)  feels  lightened,  refreshed,  upUfted.  Yet  there,  to 
port,  loom  the  mountains,  whereimto  I  am  to  be  chained  for 
years,  with  a  vulture  gnawing  my  heart.  Here  is  the  very 
place  the  Kaf,  or  Caucasus,  where  I  must  die  a  daily  death 
and  make  a  nightly  descent  into  hell. 

It  must  have  been  on  these  mountains  (irerpais  vrJ/rjXoKfrqfivois) 
that  strength  and  force  bound  the  victim  Demigod — for  did  not 
Kratos  say  unto  Hephaistos,  "  We  have  come  now  to  the  utmost 
verge  of  the  earth  ?  "  Where  was  that,  but  at  the  antipodes  ? — 
the  Umited  geographical  knowledge  of  the  poet  was  unequal  to 
his  inspiration.  Would  that  I  had  committed  the  godhke  crime, 
and  gathered  fire  from  those  empyrean  urns  whence  the  stars 
draw  light — then  might  I  hope  to  possess  the  godhke  strength 
also  of  the  Titan  crucified  !  Oh  !  Divine  ^Ether !  and  ye  swift- 
winged  winds  !  ye  gushing  river-fotrnttiins  !  and  thou  boundless 
endless,  multitudinous  chorus-laugh  of  ocean  waves !  Oh ! 
Earth !  mother  of  all  things  !  and  world-seeing  circuit  of  the 

sun  ! No  answer  ;  but,  enter  convict-servsmt  with  a  mockery 

of  dinner.  Eating  or  sleeping  is  not  for  me  these  three  days  past ; 
partly  from  severe  illness,  partly  from  the  excited  expectation  of 


ifT^- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  223 

once  more,  at  the  end  of  two  years,  seeing  the  face  of  a  friend. 
There,  amongst  or  behind  those  shaggy  mountains,  wander 
Martin,  O'Brien,  Meagher,  each  alone  in  his  forest-dungeon. 
Surely  I  shall  contrive  some  means  of  meeting  them  once. 

This  evening  we  entered  the  inlet  known  as  D'Entrecasteaux' 
Channel,  which  runs  up  about  twenty-five  miles  on  the  west  side 
of  Bruni  Island,  and  divides  it  from  the  mainland  of  Tasmania. 
On  the  east  side  of  Bruni  spreads  out  Storm  Bay,  the  ordinary 
approach  to  Hobart  Town  harbour ;  but  this  channel  adjoins 
Storm  Bay  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Bruni ;  from  whence  a 
wide  estuary  runs  many  miles  farther  inland.  We  are  becalmed 
in  the  channel ;  but  can  see  the  huge  mass  of  Mount  Wellington, 
ending  to  the  eastward  in  steep  cUffs.  In  the  valley  at  the  foot 
of  those  cliffs,  as  they  tell  me,  bosomed  in  soft  green  hills,  bowered 
in  shady  gardens,  with  its  feet  kissed  by  the  blue  ripples  of  the 
Derwent — lies  that  metropolis  of  murderers  and  university  of 
burglary  and  all  subter-human  abomination,  Hobart  Town. 

But  as  we  lie  here  becalmed,  between  lonely  wooded  hills,  the 
land  seems  virgin  yet,  as  when  La  Perouse  sailed  up  the  same 
channel  of  old,  startling  the  natives  from  their  kangaroo  flesh-pots 
on  the  shore.  These  woods  are  all  of  evergreen  trees  ;  and  even 
from  the  deck  I  can  see  the  long  streamers  of  bark  peeUng  oft 
their  trunks  and  festooned  from  branch  to  branch  ;  for  all  this 
tribe,  the  Eucalypti,  shed  not  their  leaves  but  their  bark.  The 
trees  seem  almost  all  of  great  height ;  but  on  the  whole  the 
forest  looks  poor  and  ragged,  because  the  boughs  and  branches 
are  so  conspicuous  in  their  nakedness  ;  and  the  foUage  is  thin 
compared  with  the  bulk  of  the  tnmks.  This  is  certainly  the  first 
impression  made  on  an  eye  accustomed  to  the  umbrageous 
masses  of  beech  and  sycamore  that  build  up  the  cathedral  arches 
and  aisles  of  our  European  woodlands.  But  I  can  scarcely 
beUeve  that  I  am  verily  to  set  my  foot  upon  dry  land  again. 

yth. — ^We  made  our  way  this  morning  to  the  head  of  D'Entre- 
casteaux' Channel,  where  it  communicates  by  a  narrow  passage 
with  the  great  Storm  Bay — took  a  pilot  on  board  at  this  passage, 
a  little  dark  man,  at  whom  I  gazed  as  narrowly  and  curiously  as 
ever  did  Abel  Jans  Tasman  at  the  first  Australasian  savages  he 
saw,  or  they  at  Abel.  But  indeed  our  little  pilot  was  a  mere 
JEn^Hshman  in  tweed  pantaloons  and  round  jacket ;  and  he 


224  JAIL  JOURNAL 

came  down  to  his  boat  from  a  neat  white  cottage  on  a  hill,  with 
a  greensward  lawn  sloping  from  its  door  to  the  boat-pier, 
and  some  sweet-briar  hedges  protecting  and  adorning  its 
garden. 

Two  o'clock  afternoon. — ^We  are  at  anchor  in  the  Derwent,  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  quays  and  custom-house  of  Hobart 
Town.  Why  should  I  write  down,  here  again,  what  I  see,  what 
everybody  sees,  at  every  sea-port  ?  The  town  slopes  from  the 
river  to  the  hills  precisely  hke  any  other  town.  Several  church 
steeples,  of  course  ;  a  small  battery  on  a  point ;  a  windmill  on  a 
height ;  merchants'  stores  along  the  quays  ;  waggons  carrying 
merchandise  hither  and  thither  ;  and  the  waggons  have  wheels  ; 
and  the  horses  are  quadrupedal  and  solid-ungular.  A  good 
many  ships  Ue  in  the  harbour ;  and  one  Carthaginian  frigate, 
the  M  (Bander. 

Our  bold  captain  and  surgeon-superintendent  have  dressed 
themselves  (and  the  latter  in  sword  and  epaulettes  looks  grand 
enough),  to  await  the  official  persons  ;  the  official  persons  ashore, 
with  that  deliberate  dignity  which  becomes  their  high  position, 
move  slowly,  and  in  their  several  convict  bureaus  prepare  their 
stationery  and  tape,  that  they  may  board  us  in  due  form.  So  I 
have  time  to  dwell  upon,  to  appropriate  and  assimilate,  one  of 
the  loveliest  scenes  in  all  the  world.  The  harbour  is  the  broad 
estuary  of  the  river  Derwent.  The  town  lies  on  the  western  side, 
backed  by  gardens  and  villas,  rising  on  the  slope  of  wooded  hills 
and  ravines,  which  all  lose  themselves  in  the  vast  gloomy  mass  of 
Mount  Wellington.  On  the  eastern  side,  which  seems  nearly 
uninhabited,  there  are  low  hills  covered  with  wood  ;  and  directing 
the  eye  up  the  river  valley,  I  see  nothing  but  a  succession  of  hill 
and  forest,  till  blue  mountains  shut  up  the  view.  I  long  to 
walk  the  woods,  and  leave  behind  me  the  sight  and  sound  of 
the  weariful  sea. 

8/A. — Official  persons  on  board,  with  their  stationery  and  tape, 
also  police  constables.  I  know  not  what  forms  and  ceremonies  are 
going  forward,  because  I  stay  close  in  my  cabin  ;  but  I  hear  a  call- 
ing of  roll ;  and  the  prisoners,  with  washed  faces,  are  walking  aft 
one  by  one.  The  doctor  tells  me  nothing  will  be  known  about  me 
and  my  destination  till  to-morrow.  The  special  despatch,  regard- 
ing me,  has  gone  of  cour§e  to  the  governor,  one  Sir  WilUaiji 


J-^ 


'//. 


'fhM. 


Father  John  Kenyon 
Parish  Priest  of  Templederry,  Co.  Tipperary 


f",  l|»i;i5W»'/^?W^lV?»fJI<j'«M'li^Wl|,''4!B'JWl^'*.WiA"tW  .  -■^jr5^^^??r"?i;^s^Y7^.flwj.;«: 


/^/L  JOURNAL  225 

Denison ;  but  that  potentate  is  on  a  hunting  party,  and  may  not 
be  in  town  even  to-morrow.  Meanwhile  the  real  convicts  on 
board  are  said  to  be  in  high  glee  :  they  are  to  land  free  :  and  a 
proposal  has  come  out  to  the  ship,  inviting  twelve  of  the  most 
powerful  men  to  take  service  as  constables  on  the  island.  Dr. 
Gibson,  our  superintendent,  who  has  been  here  before,  and  knows 
the  ways  of  the  place,  informs  me  that  almost  all  the  petty  con- 
stables on  the  island,  and  even  some  of  the  chief-constables,  are 
convicts ;  and  further,  that  the  most  desperate  villains  are 
actually  selected  for  the.  office.  "  A  dozen  of  our  worst 
Neptune  ruffians,"  said  the  doctor,  "  you  will  see  in  a  few 
days  dressed  in  blue,  armed  with  carbines,  and  placed  in  a 
position  to  predominate  over  you,  and  your  friends  who  have 
arrived  here  before  you." 

Dr.  Gibson,  however,  says  he  beUeves  (whether  he  has  reason  to 
believe  it  I  know  not),  that  the  instructions  are  to  treat  me  with 
some  consideration  :  and  he  promises  that  he  will  go  ashore  to- 
morrow, and  if  he  finds  I  am  to  be  assigned  a  residence  in  some 
of  the  interior  poUce-districts,  he  is  to  use  his  influence  to  induce 
the  governor,  on  account  of  my  shattered  health,  to  let  me  Uve 
along  with  John  Martin.  Some  Hobart  Town  newspapers  have 
come  on  board.  O'Brien  is  still  in  very  close  confinement  on  an 
island  off  the  east  coast,  called  Maria  Island,  a  rugged  and  deso- 
late territory,  about  twelve  miles  in  length,  where  the  jziilers  keep 
one  of  their  main  strongholds.  He  has  refused  to  accept  their 
"  ticket-of-leave  "  on  the  terms  of  giving  them  his  parole  not  to 
escape  while  he  holds  it ;  and  the  convict-authorities  are  much 
irritated  by  his  determination.  They  use  him  hardly  enough ! 
And  his  health  is  failing. 

•  By  the  advertisements  I  see  there  are  no  fewer  than  five  ships 
at  present  laid  on  for  CaUfomia  from  the  two  ports,  Hobart  Town, 
south,  and  Launceston,  north.  There  is  now  a  brisk  trade  between 
Van  Diemen's  Land  and  San  Francisco :  apples,  onions  and 
potatoes  being  the  chief  articles  of  export  from  this  island. 
Along  with  these  specimens  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  however, 
the  CaUfomians  must  be  receiving  from  Van  Diemen's  Land 
assortments  of  the  choicest  and  rarest  scoimdreUsm  in  all 
creation.  Emancipated  convicts,  also,  have  the  "  sacred 
hungering  for  gold." 
IS 


226  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Evening. — An  official  person  was  brought  to  my  cabin  door  half 
an  hour  ago,  by  the  doctor,  and  introduced  to  me  by  the  name  of 

Emmeii A  convict  official  by  the  name  of  Enmiett !    He 

handed  me  a  communication  from  an  individual  styled  "  Comp- 
troller-General," informing  me  that  instructions  had  been  received 
from  the  Secretary  of  State  to  allow  me  to  reside  at  large  in  any 
one  of  the  police-districts  I  might  select  (except  those  already  used 
as  the  dungeons  of  my  friends) — subject  to  no  restriction,  save  the 
necessity  of  reporting  myself  to  the  district  police-magistrate  once 
a  month.  This  condition  of  existence  is,  I  find,  called  "  Ticket- 
of-leave."  I  may  accept  it  or  not,  as  I  think  proper  ;  or,  having 
accepted,  I  may  at  any  time  resign  it :  but  first  of  all,  I  must  give 
my  promise  that  so  long  as  I  hold  the  said  "  ticket,"  I  shall  not 
escape  from  the  colony. 

O'Brien,  as  I  said,  has  refused  to  give  his  promise  ;  but  Martin, 
Meagher,  O'Doherty,  and  the  rest  have  done  so.  Some  of  them, 
as  I  hear,  speak  of  surrendering  their  "  comparative  liberty,"  and, 
of  course,  withdrawing  their  promise,  so  soon  as  their  health  shall 
have  been  re-established  by  a  few  months'  wandering  in  the  bush. 
I  decide  to  do  as  the  majority  of  my  friends  have  done,  especially 
as  Dr.  Gibson  informs  me  that  the  close  confinement  of  Maria 
Island  would  probably  kill  me  at  once.  He  seems,  indeed,  most 
anxious  to  get  me  ashore  ;  and  takes  credit  for  bringing  me  so 
far  ahve,  after  my  ten  months'  soUtary  confinement  in  Bermuda, 
and  eleven  months  and  seventeen  days'  cruising  in  the 
Neptune. 

Wrote  a  note  to  the  "  Comptroller-General,"  and  placed  it  in 
the  hands  of  Emmett,  informing  him  that  I  would  promise  not  to 
escape  so  long  as  I  should  enjoy  the  "  comparative  liberty  "  of  the 
ticket :  and,  on  his  suggestion  and  the  doctor's,  I  wrote  another 
note,  telling  the  authorities  I  was  very  ill ;  had  been  ill  for  many 
months,  and  was  utterly  unfit  to  be  sent  off  by  myself,  to  one  of 
the  remote  districts,  amongst  entire  strangers.  The  doctor  is  to 
back  this  with  his  professional  authority ;  and  he  and  Emmett 
say  the  governor  will  be  sure  to  allow  me  to  go  up  to  a  place 
called  Bothwell,  where  John  Martin  vegetates.    So  Emmett  left 

me.    He  says  he  is  related  to  the  family  of ;  but  no,  the  man 

is  an  impostor. 

Hobart  Town  has  quite  an  imposing  appearance  from  the  water, 


■  'WWIKI'?Wi>-#."W'*',"'>^'ff'W"-+^^  ii".i.«i|iw.u  *jtJ»"w>-.*i-v,w^»»»jf'W!.7 


JAIL  JOURNAL  227 

standing  out  against  its  grand  mountain  background.  Why 
should  not  I  write  a  minute  account  of  the  town  this  evening,  as 
I  have  leisure,  and  no  prepossessions  or  narrow  personal 
observations  to  distract  me  ?  Sterne  gave  to  the  world  a 
valuable  directory  of  Calais  upon  that  principle. 

Hohart  Town,  Hohartia,  Hobarton.  Coat  of  arms,  a  fleece,  and 
a  kangaroo  with  its  pocket  picked ;  and  the  legend  Sic  fortis 
Hohartia  crevii :  namely,  by  fleecing  and  picking  pockets.  This 
town,  if  we  may  trust  its  archives,  the  authority  of  which  I  see 
no  reason  to  call  in  question  upon  the  present  occasion — ^was 
once  no  more  than  a  small  village  ;  and,  as  it  boasts  at  present 
no  less  than  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  it  must  have  grown 
up  little  by  Uttle,  I  suppose,  to  its  present  size — and  so  forth. 

To  my  utter  amazement,  I  had  a  letter  to-day  from  Patrick 
O'Donohue,  who*has  been  permitted  to  Uve  in  the  city  of  Hobart 
Town,  informing  me  that  he  has  established  a  newspaper  called  the 
Irish  Exile,  enclosing  me  a  copy  of  the  last  number,  and  proposing 
that  I  should  1  oin  him  in  the  concern.  Herein  is  a  marvellous  thing. 
How  happens  it  that  the  convict  authorities  permit  him  to  conduct 
a  paper  at  all  ?  Or  what  would  be  the  use  of  such  a  publication 
here,  even  if  he  were  competent  enough  to  manage  it  ?  The 
thing  is  a  hideous  absurdity  altogether  :  but  I  am  glad  to  learn 
that  none  of  my  friends  takes  anj^hing  to  do  with  it ;  though  I 
suppose  it  assumes  to  be  a  sort  of  "  organ  "  for  them.  The  Irish 
Exile  is  bepuffing  me  now  most  outrageously  :  God  preserve  me 
from  organs  of  opinion  !  Have  I  sailed  round  the  terraqueous 
globe,  and  dropped  in  here  in  a  cove  of  the  far  South  Pacific,  to 
find  an  "  able  editor  "  mounted  stilt  wise  upon  phrases  tall,  and 
blowing  deUberate  puffs  in  my  face  ?  Gladly  I  would  bare  my 
brow  to  all  the  tornadoes  and  ouragans  of  the  West  Indies,  to  the 
black-squalls  of  the  tropics,  to  the  heavy  gales  of  the  British 
Channel,  and  the  t57phoons  of  the  China  Seas,  rather  than  to  the 
flattering  flatulence  of  these  mephitic  airs.  I  was  tired,  indeed, 
of  the  sea  ;  but  at  sea  there  are,  at  an5n-ate,  no  organs  of 
opinion.  Eurus  and  Boreas  are  often  rude  enough ;  but,  at 
least,  they  blow  where  they  list,  and  pipe  not  their  notes  under 
the  censorship  of  a  ComptroUer-General. 

To  be  sure,  one  may  cite  Virgil  against  me,  with  the  Comp- 
troller-General iEolus,  and  his  gtws  ego. 


228  JAIL  JOURNAL 

But  what  of  this  ?     I  retire  to  my  cot  to-night  in  a  black  and 

blaspheming  humour,  vilipending  both  sea  and  land. 

****** 

■12th. — Sitting  on  the  green  grass  by  the  bank  of  a  clear, 
brawling  stream  of  fresh  water.  Trees  waving  overhead  ;  the  sun- 
shine streaming  through  their  branches,  and  making  a  tremulous 
network  of  hght  and  shade  on  the  ground.  It  is  Bothwell,  forty- 
six  miles  from  Hobart  Town,  from  the  Neptune  and  the  sea,  and 
high  among  the  central  mountains  of  Van  Diemen's  Land. 
Opposite  sits  John  Martin,  sometime  of  Loughome,  smoking 
placidly,  and  gazing  curiously  on  me  with  his  mild  eyes. 


^P!W?W!<")PW?f??ffWpnWSIS»!'!7''™P?i'»''''T^^ 


CHAPTER   XV 

Afril  i3ih,  1850.— The  village  of  Bothwell,  where  John  Martin 
and  myself  are  now  privileged,  by  "  ticket-of-leave,"  to  live  or  to 
vegetate,  contains  about  sixty  or  seventy  houses  ;  has  a  church 
where  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England  and  of  Scotland 
perform  service,  one  in  the  morning  and  the  other  in  the  evening 
of  Sunday ;  has  four  large  pubUc-houses,  or  hotels,  estabUshments 
which  are  much  better  supported  on  the  voluntary  system,  and 
have  much  larger  congregations,  than  the  church ;  has  a  post- 
office,  and  several  carpenters'  and  blacksmiths'  shops,  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  settlers  who  Uve  in  the  district ;  and  a 
police-office  and  police-barrack,  with  the  police  magistrate  of 
the  district  predominating  there. 

It  is  situated  in  a  valley  about  three  or  four  miles  in  width,  and 
twice  that  in  length,  at  an  elevation  of  1,300  feet  above  the  sea  ; 
and  is  surrounded  by  rough  wooded  mountains,  rising  perhaps 
1,000  feet  higher.  Through  the  valley,  from  north  to  south,  nms 
the  Uttle  river  Clyde,  turning  two  mills.  Two  miles  below 
Bothwell,  the  Clyde  makes  a  leap  of  forty-five  feet  into  a  profound 
cauldron  between  high  rocks,  and  thence  enters  a  narrow  gorge 
between  lofty  and  rocky  banks,  where  it  rushes  along  with  great 
rapidity,  and  about  sixteen  miles  lower  down  passes  another 
village  with  a  Lanarkshire  name,  "  Hamilton,"  from  whence  it 
still  continues  a  southern  course,  till  it  enters  the  large  river 
Derwent,  which  collects  the  drainage  of  all  the  high  central 
region  of  the  island.  This  particular  valley  of  the  Clyde  was 
settled  principally  by  Scotch  colonists,  which  accounts  for  the 
Lanarkshire  names. 

Hamilton,  however,  is  a  police-district  by  itself,  and  Ues  out  of 
the  bounds  of  our  dungeon.  Northward  the  district  of  Bothwell 
extends  twenty-four  miles  to  the.  shores  of  Lake  Crescent  and 
Lake  Sorel ;  and  the  farther  shores  of  the  lakes  bound  the 
territories  of  Meagher  and  O'Doherty.  Eastward  the  district  of 
Bothwell  is  defined  by  the  course  of  the  Jordan,  a  stream  still 

229 


230  JAIL  JOURNAL 

smaller  than  the  Clyde,  which  I  crossed  on  my  way  hither  a  few 
days  ago,  without  knowing  it :  for  it  is  always  dry  except  in 
winter.  Westward  we  reach  the  large  river  Shannon,  which  nms 
through  a  lonely  wilderness  of  forest  and  mountain,  between 
lofty  banks,  and  after  joining  with  the  Ouse,  a  still  more  western 
river,  loses  itself  in  the  same  Derwent.  Beyond  those  rivers 
hes  the  almost  unexplored  region  o*f  the  island,  utterly  barren 
and  inhospitable,  spreading  in  a  great  plateau,  at  an  elevation 
of  nearly  4,000  feet,  to  the  Western  Sea. 

We  climbed  to-day  one  of  the  minor  hills,  and  from  the  summit 
commanded  a  vast  view  of  endless  mountains,  covered  with  wood, 
closed  to  the  south-west  by  a  great  range  already  covered  with 
snow,  though  it  is  still  warm  autumnal  weather  here. 

The  trees  are  almost  all  of  one  or  other  of  the  gum  species ; 
lofty  and  vast,  but  not  umbrageous,  for  the  foliage  is  meagre,  and 
but  ill  clothes  the  huge  Hmbs.  In  some  of  the  huge  valleys, 
however,  there  is  more  richness  of  foliage,  and  along  the  river's 
bank  the  gum-trees  are  chiefly  of  the  sort  called  black  gum,  which 
makes  a  grand  leafy  head,  almost  as  massive  as  the  European 
beech  or  sycamore.  On  the  slopes  of  some  of  the  hills  are  great 
thickets  of  mimosa,  called  by  the  colonists  the  wattle-gum,  a 
most  graceful  evergreen  tree,  but  stripped  at  this  season  of  its 
splendid  gold-hued  blossoms.  The  air  is  laden  with  the  fragrance 
of  these  gum-trees,  and  illuminated  by  the  flight  of  parrots  of 
most  glowing  and  radiant  plumage,  that  go  flashing  through  the 
arches  of  the  forest  hke  winged  gems. 

I  grow  stronger  every  day.  And  whether  it  be  the  elastic  and 
balmy  air  of  these  mountain-woods  that  sends  the  tide  of  life 
coursing  somewhat  warmer  through  my  veins — or  unwonted 
converse  of  an  old  friend  that  revives  the  personal  identity  I  had 
nearly  lost — or  the  mere  treading  once  more  upon  the  firm  flowery 
surface  of  our  bounteous  Mother  Earth,  after  two  years'  tossing  on 
the  barren,  briny  ocean — Mother  Earth  breathing  vital  fragrance 
for  ever,  for  ever  swinging  the  censer  of  her  perfumes  from  a 
thousand  flowers ;  for  ever  singing  her  eternal  melodies  in  whisper- 
ing tree-tops  and  murmuring,  tinkling,  bubbling  streams — certain 
it  is,  I  feel  a  kind  of  joy.  In  vain  I  try  to  torment  myself  into  a 
state  of  chronic  savage  indignation  :  it  will  not  do  here.  In  vain 
I  reflect  that  "  it  is  incumbent  on  me  diligently  to  remember  " 


^    ;  s.  ■      ■■  ■    •    ■■  '-■■■■  - 


JAIL  JOURNAL  23I 

(as  Mr.  Gibbon  says)  how  that  I  am,  after  all,  in  a  real  cell,  hulk, 
or  dungeon,  yet — that  these  ancient  mountains,  with  the  cloud- 
shadows  flying  over  their  far-stretching  woodlands,  are  but 
Carthaginian  prison  walls — that  the  bright  birds,  waving  their 
rainbow  wings  here  before  me,  are  but  "  ticket-of-leave  "  birds, 
and  enjoy  only  "  comparative  liberty  " — in  vain — there  is  in 
every  soul  of  man  a  buoyancy  that  will  not  let  it  sink  to  utter 
stark  despair.     Well  said  the  Lady  Eleanora — 

"  When  the  heart  is  throbbing  sorest 
There  is  balsam  in  the  forest : 
There  is  balsam  in  the  forest  for  its  pain  " — 
Said  the  Lady  Eleanora. 

Moreover,  at  my  side  walks  Martin  ;  and  pours  me  out  such  a 
stream  of  discourse.  The  slight  sketches  or  partial  glimpses  I 
had  got  in  my  seafaring  captivity  of  the  history  of  our  most 
rueful  and  pitiful  rebelUon  needed  to  be  filled  up :  and  he  has 
three  months'  later  history  of  Ireland  than  I  knew.  Three 
ignominious  months ! 

It  seems  the  three  rebels  whose  dungeon-districts  all  touch 
Lake  Sorel  are  in  the  habit  of  meeting  almost  every  week  at  those 
lakes,  which  is  against  the  rule,  to  be  sure  ;  but  authorities  con- 
nive at  it — thinking  probably  that  no  great  or  immediate  harm 
can  accrue  to  the  British  Empire  thereby.  And  Martin  is  to  guide 
me  to-morrow  to  the  rendezvous  ;  having  written  immediately  on 
my  arrival  to  the  two  others,  announcing  the  day  of  meeting. 
Martin  has  a  grey  pony ;  O'Doherty  and  Meagher  have  each  a 
horse  ;  and  I,  having  none  yet  of  my  own,  am  to  hire  one  from 
a  man  in  the  village.  This  evening  I  have  deluged  Martin  with 
talk,  as  we  sat  at  our  wood  fire,  smoking  like  two  volcanoes.  We 
have  lodgings  in  a  neat  cottage  of  the  village,  our  hostess  being  a 
woman  who  conducts  the  church-singing  on  Sundays.  She  is 
very  attentive  to  us  ;  and  to  show  me  she  is  a  person  of  respect- 
abiUty,  she  took  an  early  occasion  of  informing  me  that  she 
"  came  out  free"  ;  which,  in  fact,  is  the  patent  of  nobiUty  in 
Van  Diemen's  Land.  Here,  a  freeman  is  a  king,  and  the 
convict-class  is  regarded  just  as  the  negroes  must  be  in  South 
Carolina  ;  which  indeed  is  perfectly  right. 

I  have  seen  none  of  the  neighbouring  gentlemen  yet ;  but  John 


232  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Martin  tells  me  that  they  have  almost  all  called  on  him,  and  shown 
him  kind  attentions  during  the  five  months  he  spent  here  alone.  I 
feel  pretty  indifferent  to  society,  however,  at  least  yet.  But  it  is 
agreeable  to  find  that  even  EngUsh  and  Scotch  settlers  of  good 
character  and  rank  refuse  to  regard  us  as  "  felons."  A  piece  of 
contumacy  indeed  against  their  own  Government,  but  a  consider- 
able pleasure  and  advantage  to  us. 

Martin  has  brought  out  some  books,  which,  together  with 
my  small  store,  make  our  lodging  look  literary.  Martin  is 
an  old  brick  ;  he  has  listened  to  me  haranguing  to-night  with 
commendable  attention.  So  that  I  trust  I  have  improved 
his  mind. 

To-morrow  we  start  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  for  our 
re-union  in  a  certain  shepherd's  hut  on  Lake  Sorel. 

i$th. — ^Lake  Sorel.  Promontory  of  the  "  Dog's  Head,"  or 
Cynoscephaloe.  Yesterday  morning  dawned  cold  and  gloomy ;  the 
first  morning  apparently  of  their  Tasmanian  winter.  Before  we 
rose  it  had  begun  to  rain  violently ;  and  all  the  sky  was  dark. 
Evidently  the  day  was  to  be  tempestuous  ;  and  on  the  hills  round 
about  the  valley  we  could  see  that  it  was  snow  instead  of  rain 
that  was  falling.  Our  landlady  and  her  husband  advised  us 
not  to  move,  as  we  might  be  stopped  by  floods  in  the  high 
country ;  and,  besides,  I  was  still  extremely  weak  and  nervous, 
though  improving  rapidly. 

We  waited  till  noon  ;  but  at  noon,  as  it  rained  more  furiously 
than  ever,  we  resolved  to  brave  it  and  mount.  We  set  out  north- 
eastward through  the  valley,  which  is  perfectly  level,  sandy, 
clothed  with  a  short,  dry,  yellowish  grass,  and  sprinkled  with 
trees.  After  a  ride  of  four  miles  we  passed  a  handsome  stone 
house,  with  very  extensive  outbuildings  for  convict  labourers  and 
the  tradesmen  required  on  a  sheep-farming  estate.  It  lies  nestled 
at  the  very  root  of  the  great  Quoin  hill ;  and  commands  a  most 
extensive  view  over  the  plain  in  front  and  the  distant  mountains 
to  the  south.  This  is  Denistoun,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Russell,  a 
Scottish  settler,  and  a  good  friend  of  Martin's  ;  but  we  rode  past 
without  stopping,  and  through  a  large  green  paddock,  surrounded 
by  the  stables  and  workmen's  huts.  Immediately  on  clearing  this 
we  found  ourselves  in  the  wild  bush,  and  ascending  a  gorge  of  the 
hiU  behind.    From  this  point  the  rain  began  to  change  into  snow. 


■UMji«J(^jVif,ii!.  ij»f^twu^^;friJfi|l>ifPt«K"^MF. 


'^r^:*'"?^'..:*  • 


i.tv^^t;  : 


JAIL  JOURNAL 


233 


and  for  many  miles  we  rode  on  through  the  blmding  tempest, 
which  prevented  any  special  reconnaissance  of  the  coimtry.  I 
was  only  sensible  that  we  were  continually  ascending — that  the 
track  was  very  obscure,  and  wound  amongst  dead  trees  and 
rocks — and  that  at  every  mile  the  forest  became  more  wild,  and 
more  encumbered  with  naked  and  fallen  trees ;  until  at  last  I 
thought  the  whole  world  might  be  challenged  to  show  a  scene  of 
such  utter  howUng  desolation. 

Still  we  rode  on,  Martin  always  sa5dng  that  when  we  should 
be  half-way  to  Lake  Sorel,  we  might  turn  if  we  hked.  Fifteen 
miles  from  Denistoun  we  passed  a  rough  log- fence,  and  saw  be- 
fore us  a  level  plain  extending  full  two  miles,  partially  adorned 
with  majestic  trees,  like  some  spacious  park  in  Ireland.  And, 
though  it  was  bleak  enough  yesterday,  with  a  snow-storm  driving 
ind  hissing  over  it,  yet  it  was  easy  to  see  we  had  got  into  a  country 
of  a  different  character.  In  short,  we  had  finished  the  long  ascent, 
and  we  were  now  on  the  great  plateau  of  these  two  lakes.  We 
galloped  over  the  plain  with  the  snow  beating  furiously  in  our 
faces,  and  found  ourselves  on  the  bank  of  a  small  river,  beyond 
which  seemed  to  be  a  tract  of  very  close  and  rugged  woodland 
"  The  Clyde  again,"  said  my  companion  ;  "  we  are  but  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  point  of  Lake  Crescent,  whence  it  issues  ;  but 
you  cannot  see  the  lake  through  the  close  bush." 

We  crossed  the  river  by  a  rough  wooden  bridge,  made  by  some 
of  the  settlers  for  the  passage  of  their  flocks  when  they  drive  them 
down  for  the  winter  to  the  low  country  ;  and  then  for  four  miles 
farther  we  had  a  most  savage  and  difficult  region  to  pass,  covered 
with  thick  and  shaggy  bush,  and  very  much  encumbered  with  the 
monstrous  ruins  of  ancient  trees.  No  Hving  creature  was  any- 
where visible  ;  but  now  and  then  a  few  sheep  cowering  under  the 
lee  side  of  a  honeysuckle  tree  (for  all  these  regions  are  parcelled 
out  into  sheep-runs)  ;  no  sound,  but  the  roaring  of  the  wind, 
and  the  groaning  and  screaming  of  the  trees. 

Lake  Crescent  was  now  visible  on  our  right ;  and  for  three  or 
four  miles  we  had  no  track,  or  other  guidance  on  our  way  save 
that  by  keeping  the  lake  in  sight,  on  our  right  hand,  we  must 
strike  on  the  point  where  the  other  lake  communicates  with  it  by 
a  short  stream.  And  there  lay  the  hut  where,  I  was  assured,  we 
should  find  a  hxmian  being,  a  hermit  named  Cooper,  who  would 


234  JAJL  JOURNAL 

be  sure  to  give  us  a  mutton-chop,  and  enable  us  to  proceed 
on  our  way. 

I  had  pretended,  up  to  this  time,  that  I  was  not  fatigued,  and 
could  still  ride  any  distance  ;  but  the  weakness  produced  by  my 
two  years'  close  confinement  began  now  to  be  visible.  My  com- 
panion encouraged  me  by  the  assurance  that  we  were  within  two 
miles  of  Cooper's,  and  we  now  got  into  open  ground  again,  where 
we  could  push  our  horses  to  a  canter.  At  last  we  found  ourselves 
on  a  low  tract  of  land,  about  half  a  mile  across,  having  Lake 
Crescent  still  to  the  right,  and  the  great  Lake  Sorel  to  the  left. 
This  is  a  magnificent  sheet  of  water,  thirty-five  miles  in  circuit 
measured  by  the  sinuosities  of  the  shore,  varied  by  some  bold 
promontories,  one  small  wooded  island,  and  a  fine  range  of  bold 
hills  on  its  northern  side.  The  water  looked  black,  and  had  an 
angry  curl ;  the  snow,  which  had  abated  somewhat,  came  down 
thicker  than  ever  ;  and  at  last,  to  my  great  contentment,  I  could 
see  a  smoke  mounting  amongst  the  trees  before  us.  There,  upon 
the  edge  of  a  marsh,  and  just  at  the  point  where  a  sluggish 
winding  stream  leaves  Lake  Sorel,  to  carry  its  surplus  waters  to 
Lake  Crescent,  stood  a  small  hut  of  round  logs,  thatched  with 
grass — the  first  human  habitation  we  had  seen  since  we  left 
Dennistoun. 

The  sound  of  our  horses'  hoofs  brought  out  a  man  of  about 
forty  years  of  age,  with  a  thin,  sharp,  intelligent  face,  and  hair 
somewhat  reddish,  dressed  in  the  blue  woollen  shirt,  which  is  the 
invariable  uniform  of  the  shepherds  and  stock-keepers.  He 
welcomed  us  with  great  cordiality,  and  said  at  once  that  Mr. 
Meagher  and  Mr.  O'Doherty  were  at  Townsend's  all  day  waiting 
for  us.  Townsend's  is  another  hut,  four  miles  further  on,  and 
situated  in  the  district  of  Ross,  which  is  usually  made  the  place 
of  meeting,  because  it  is  a  better  house,  and  has  several  rooms. 
On  dismounting,  however,  to  sit  a  little  while  at  Cooper's  fire,  I 
found  myself  too  much  exhausted  to  ride  any  farther ;  so 
Cooper  took  one  of  our  horses,  and  set  off  to  Townsend's, 
to  ask  our  friends  to  come  to  me,  seeing  I  could  not  go  to 
them. 

"  You  just  keep  the  fire  up,  gentlemen,"  said  Cooper,  as  he 
girthed  the  saddle,  "  that  I  may  get  the  tea  and  chops  ready 
when  I  come  back,  and  I'll  engage  the  other  gentlemen  will  be 


JAIL  JOURNAL  235 

here  in  an  hour  or  less."  We  threw  on  more  wood,  and  tried 
to  dry  our  clothes. 

It  now  began  to  grow  dusk,  for  we  had  been  four  hours  and 
a-half  on  the  way ;  and  the  evening  was  fast  growing  dark,  when 
we  heard  the  gallop  of  three  horses,  and  a  loud  laugh,  well  known 
to  me.  We  went  to  the  door,  and  in  a  minute  Meagher  and 
O'Doherty  had  thrown  themselves  from  their  horses  ;  and,  as  we 
exchanged  greetings — I  know  not  from  what  impulse,  whether 
from  buoyancy  of  heart,  or  bizarre  perversity  of  feeUng — we  all 
laughed  till  the  woods  rang  around  ;  laughed  loud  and  long, 
and  uproariously,  till  two  teal  rose,  startled  from  the  reeds 
on  the  lake-shore,  and  flew  screaming  to  seek  a  quieter 
neighbourhood. 

I  suspect  there  was  something  hollow  in  that  laughter,  though 
at  the  time  it  was  hearty,  vociferous,  and  spontaneous.  But 
even  in  laughter  the  heart  is  sad  ;  and  curses  or  tears,  just  then, 
might  have  become  us  better. 

Both  these  exiles  looked  fresh  and  vigorous.  Kevin  O'Doherty 
I  had  scarcely  ever  met  before ;  but  he  is  a  fine,  erect, 
noble-looking  young  man,  with  a  face  well  bronzed  by  air 
and  exercise. 

After  giving  the  horses  each  two  handfuls  of  oats,  all  we  had, 
we  turned  them  out  to  find  shelter  and  grazing  as  best  they  could. 
Beside  the  hut  is  a  large  enclosure,  made  by  an  old  post-and-rail 
fence ;  and  into  this,  with  much  compunction,  on  my  part  at 
least,  we  turned  out  the  poor  animals.  However,  such  is  the 
usage  that  horses  are  accustomed  to  here,  where  they  are  seldom 
stabled,  even  in  winter.  Indeed,  the  bush  everywhere  affords 
good  close  shelter  for  all  sorts  of  animals,  imder  the  thickets  of 
"  wattle-gum,"  and  the  dense  dark  shade  of  the  honeysuckle-tree. 
Horses  also  eat  the  leaves  and  tender  shoots  of  both  these  trees, 
when  the  ground  happens  to  be  covered  with  snow,  which,  even 
at  this  height  among  the  mountains,  is  exceedingly  rare. 

All  this  time,  while  we  were  employed  about  our  horses.  Cooper 
was  in  the  hut  broiling  mutton-chops,  boiling  tea  in  an  open  tin- 
can,  slung  over  the  fire,  and  cutting  the  damper  into  thick  slices 
— mutton,  tea,  and  damper  being  the  morning  refection,  and 
mutton,  damper,  and  tea  being  the  evening  meal  in  the  bush. 
Damper  is  merely  a  large  flat  cake  of  flour  and  water,  baked  in  the 


236  JAIL  JOURNAL 

wood  embers  on  the  hearth.  We  sat  dovm  upon  blocks  of  gum- 
tree,  and  Cooper  being  possessed  of  but  one  knife  and  one  fork, 
we  dined  primitively ;  but  all  were  ravenously  himgry,  and  it 
seems  Cooper  is  notorious  in  the  lake  region  for  the  excellency 
of  his  chop-cookery. 

Our  talk  was  all  of  Ireland,  and  of  Richmond  and  Newgate 
prisons,  and  of  Smith  O'Brien  ;    and  it  soon  made  us  serious 
enough.    I  had  still  very  much  to  learn — though  before  coming 
up  to  Bothwell  at  all,  I  had  met  MacManus  at  a  wayside  inn,  and 
he  told  me  all  he  knew.    They  have  been  in  Van  Diemen's  Land 
just  five  months  ;  and  they  inform  me  that  Smith  O'Brien  has 
been  during  that  time  subjected  to  most  rigorous,  capricious,  and 
insolent    treatment    by    the    "  Comptroller-General "    and    his 
subordinates.    His  confinement  for  a  while,  indeed,  was  as  strict 
as  my  own  had  been  in  Bermuda ;  and  only  the  representation 
of  the  medical  officer,  that  his  health  was  sinking  under  it,  com- 
pelled them  to  relax  the  discipUne  so  far  that  he  is  now  allowed 
to  wander  over  part  of  the  island  at  stated  times,  attended  by 
an  armed  constable.    When  he  writes  to  any  of  the  others,  or 
they  to  him,  the  letters  are  all  opened  by  the  official  people  ;  and 
so  petty  has  been  the  system  of  restriction  exercised  upon  him, 
that  they  would  not,  for  a  good  while,  suffer  him  to  receive  his 
usual  supply  of  cigars,  sent  to  him  from  Hobart  Town.    To  a 
man  all  alone,  and  already  goaded  and  stung  by  outrage  and 
wrong,  even  such  a  small  privation  as  this  may  be  a  serious 
grievance.      The    "  Comptroller-General,"    one    Hampton,    is 
specially  exasperated  against  him,  because  O'Brien  could  not 
bring  himself  to  show  him  some  of  those  external  marks  of  respect 
which  he  is  in  the  habit  of  exacting  from  the  real  convicts  :  and 
being  restrained  from  using  his  usual  methods  of  coercion  and 
punishment  in  our  case,  scourging,  hard  labour,  and  the  Uke, 
the  Comptroller  (who  is  boimd  somehow  to  assert  his  dignity), 
strives  to  conquer  and  torture  his  haughty  captive  by  hourly 
mortification  in  detail.     I  suppose  it  is  the  man's  trade  ;  and  we 
must  all  hve  ;  but  how  much  better  it  had  been  for  that  gallant 
heart,  if  he  had  been  shot  down  at  Ballingarry,  or  even  hanged 
before  the  county-jail  at  Clonmel. 

Our  meeting  at  the  Lakes,  begun  with  factitious  joUity,  soon . 
grew  dismal  enough  ;  and  it  was  still  more  saddened  as  we  talked 


JAIL  JOURNAL  237 

of  the  factions  of  Irish  refugees  in  America — factions  founded 
principally  on  the  momentous  question,  who  was  the  greatest 
man  and  most  glorious  hero,  of  that  most  inglorious  Irish  business 
of  '48  ;  and  each  imagines  he  exalts  his  own  favourite  "  martjrr  " 
by  disparaging  and  pulling  down  the  rest — as  if  the  enemy's 
Government  had  not  pulled  us  all  down,  and  ridden  roughshod 
over  us.  It  seems  that  I  have  my  faction,  and  Meagher  a  still 
stronger  one.  If  our  respective  partisans  could  but  have  seen — 
as  we  discussed  this  question  of  our  own  comparative  importance 
> — how  bitterly  and  how  mournfully  we  two  smiled  at  one  another 
across  the  gum-tree  fire  in  that  log-hut  amongst  the  forests  of  the 
antipodes,  perhaps  it  might  have  cooled  their  partizan  zeal. 

This  morning,  when  we  looked  out  on  the  snowy  waste,  we  found 
that  all  the  horses  had  broken  out  through  the  fence  into  the 
woods.  So  we  salUed  out  and  spent  an  hour  searching  for  them 
all  over  the  rocky  country  between  the  two  lakes.  At  last,  in  a 
dense  part  of  the  forest,  we  found  them  cowering  under  some 
honeysuckle  trees,  and  nibbling  the  leaves— a  sorry  breakfast. 
Drove  them  in  ;  and  after  partaking  of  Cooper's  breakfast,  we 
mounted  and  rode  on  to  the  "  Dog's  Head."  This  is  a  fine  pro- 
montory running  about  a  mile  out  into  the  lake,  and  fringed  all 
round  with  noble  trees.  In  a  snug  cove  at  the  northern  side  of 
the  "  Dog's  Head  "  is  a  stone  house  inhabited  by  the  shepherd  in 
charge  of  a  large  flock  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Clarke,  the  owner  of  all 
the  eastern  shores  of  the  lake.  The  day  became  beautiful  and 
bright.  The  snow  had  all  disappeared  by  twelve  o'clock,  and 
the  lake  lay  smooth  as  a  mirror.  Opposite  to  us  rise  several 
rough  wooded  peaks  ;  and  all  that  side  of  the  lake  is  said  to  be 
utterly  trackless,  and  nearly  impervious,  swarming  with  "  native 
devils  "  and  "  native  tigers,"  two  species  of  hideous  beasts  of 
prey  about  the  size  of  sheep-dogs,  which  at  times  make  great 
havoc  among  the  flocks.  We  have  taken  the  little  boat  belonging 
to  this  station  and  rowed  over  to  the  island,  then  to  another 
quiet  bay  where  there  is  a  sandy  beaoh,  called  by  the  shepherds 
the  "  Diamond  Beach,"  from  beautiful  Uttle  agates  and  pieces  of 
yellow  quartz  often  found  amongst  the  sands. 

j.Sth. — ^To-day  we  reluctantly  parted,  promising  to  be  at  the 
rendezvous  again  the  week  after  next ;  and  rode  our  different 
ways.    This  day,  as  the  snow  was  gone,  and  the  forests  were  all 


238  JAIL  JOURNAL 

glowing  in  the  sunshine,  I  wondered  the  country  had  seemed 
desolate  to  me  before.  We  passed  along  the  skirts  and  nearly 
under  the  perpendicular  precipices  of  Table  Mountain  ;  and  at 
last  found  ourselves  on  the  shoulder  of  Quoin  Hill,  and  looked 
down  over  the  valley  of  Bothwell,  which  already  seems  a  sort  of 
home  to  me.  From  this  point  the  view  is  wide  and  magnificent 
— endless  forests  and  mountains  ;  with  smsdl  bits  of  clearing 
here  and  there,  looking  Uke  impertinent  intrusions  upon  the 
primeval  solitudes.  Two  eagles  soar  majestically  above  :  and 
from  far  down  in  the  profound  umbrage  below,  rings  the  clear 
bugle  note  of  the  white  magpie — a  bird  which,  though  called 
magpie  by  the  colonists,  is  of  a  species  unknown  in  the  northern 
hemisphere.  So  ends  my  first  visit  to  Lake  Sorel :  and  it  has 
pleased  me  well  at  anyrate  to  find  that  my  friends  are  all 
unsubdued.    The  game,  I  think,  is  not  over  yet. 


^PJBP»WBWf»?e"W"^fp5M»"!p^ 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Bothwell,  April  20th,  1850 — Under  the  guidance  of  John  Knox 
(as  O'Doherty  insists  on  naming  Martin),  I  have  been  exploring  the 
district  of  Bothwell  on  every  side.  The  hills  are  all  similar  in 
shape  and  structure — all  with  a  gradual  slope  at  the  side,  and  a 
steep  "  bluff,"  broken  sometimes  into  grand  precipices  at  the 
other :  and  herein  every  hillock  resembles  the  great  Table 
Mountain,  or  the  huge  ranges  of  the  south-west.  Never  coimtry 
was  so  uniform  as  this,  both  in  structure  and  in  garniture.  There 
is  an  extensive  bed  of  sandstone  lying  at  or  near  the  base  of  all 
the  hills,  worn  into  caves  where  the  edges  of  it  are  exposed  in  the 
precipitous  bluffs.  Over  this  there  always  rests  a  mass  of  green- 
stone, which  ascends  to  the  summits,  and  is  often  formed  into 
rude  columnar  blocks,  as  in  the  precipices  of  Table  Mountain, 

We  have  ridden  to  a  lonely  region,  known  as  the  "  Blue 
Hill,"  being  a  succession  of  small  hollows  lying  westward  of  a 
ligh  mountain  which  boimds  our  valley  at  one  side.  Went 
up  to  the  first  settler's  place  we  came  to,  a  rather  humble 
wooden  house  ;  but  with  a  large  bam  and  offices  near  it.  John 
Knox  approached  the  door  Uke  a  man  who  knew  the  way,  and 
was  received  most  joyfully  by  the  proprietor,  one  Kenneth 
M'Kenzie,  an  ancient  settler,  from  Ross-shire.  He  brought  us 
in,  sent  our  horses  to  the  stable,  introduced  me  to  his  wife  (one 
of  the  MacRae's),  a  true  Gaelic  woman  of  tall  stature  and 
kindly  tongue,  who  speaks  Erse  better  than  EngUsh,  though 
thirty  years  an  exile  here.  She  has  never  been  in  Hobart  Town 
since  she  passed  through  it  on  her  arrival,  and  hardly  even  in 
our  metropolis  of  Bothwell  for  many  years.  Here  is  a  genuine 
family  of  Tasmanian  Highlanders,  trying  to  make  a  Ross-shire 
glen  under  the  southern  constellations.  In  the  parlour  stands  a 
spinning  wheel.  On  the  wall  hangs  an  ancient  and  highly  orna- 
mental dirk,  which  one  of  the  girls  unsheathed  for  us,  and  then 
sheathed  again,  in  the  Highland  manner,  by  a  difficult  but  grace- 
ful movement  of  the  wrist.    Delicious  milk  was  set  before  us, 

839  _ 


240  JAIL  JOURNAL 

such  as  has  frothed  in  Highland  quaich  since  the  death  of  Cineadth 
Vich  Alpine  ;  and  as  we  sat  round  the  table,  and  the  tall  youths 
and  maidens  came  in,  and  were  addressed  by  such  names  as 
Colin,  Jessie,  and  Kenneth,  I  could  almost  fancy  myself  in  some 
brae  of  Balquhidder. 

24th. — I  was  very  glad  this  morning  to  receive  a  kind,  frank, 
and  interesting  letter  from  Smith  O'Brien.  It  is  dated  "  DarUng- 
ton  Probation  Station,  Maria  Island."  He  says,  of  his  refusal  to 
give  his  parole  (which  is  the  reason  of  his  close  confinement  on 
Maria  Island), "  My  determination  was  formed  after  full  considera- 
tion ;  and  as  I  had  resolved  to  refuse  my  parole,  even  in  case  I 
should  be  offered  a  free  range  over  the  AustraUan  settlements,  you 
may  suppose  that  I  did  not  feel  much  tempted  to  abandon  that 
determination,  when  I  found  that  in  exchange  for  the  pledge  ex- 
acted we  were  offered  only  a  sort  of  mock  liberty,  in  a  district 
about  as  large  as  a  couple  of  parishes.  I  do  not  regret,  but  on 
the  contrary  rejoice,  that  I  refused  to  give  the  pledge  required. 
My  resolution,  however,  very  nearly  cost  me  my  hfe.  I  am  per- 
suaded that  if  the  diaboUcal  regulations  framed  by  Dr.  Hampton 
[the  '  Comptroller '],  with  reference  to  my  confinement,  imder 
which  I  was  deprived  of  opportunities  of  exercise,  and  even  sub- 
jected for  an  unlimited  period  to  absolute  silence  and  soUtude, 
had  continued  to  be  rigorously  enforced,  I  should  long  before 
now  have  been  either  in  my  grave  or  in  a  mad-house.  Nor  can 
I  consider  my  present  prospects  as  very  brilliant."  Speaking  of 
the  behaviour  used  towards  me,  J.  M.,  he  says : — "  I  cannot 
beUeve  that  pubUc  opinion  in  England,  ungenerous  as  it  has  been 
in  reference  to  Irish  patriotism,  will  tolerate  the  exceptional 
vindictiveness  which  the  Whig  Government  have  displayed  in 
your  case,  and  which  has  denied  to  you  the  indulgence  granted 
to  the  lowest  class  of  felons  who  have  undergone  sufferings  far 
less  acute  than  those  which  you  have  sustained.  I  fully  expect, 
therefore,  that  you  will  receive  a  '  conditional  pardon '  before 
long,"  etc.,  etc.  He  has  not,  I  fear,  accurately  estimated  how 
much  or  how  Uttle  the  generosity  of  the  British  public  can 
tolerate  in  the  case  of  an  Irish  rebel.  Perhaps,  if  he  Uves  long 
enough,  he  will  have  opportunities  of  judging  in  that  matter 
more  correctly. 

His  letter  came  to  me  sealed  with  the  "  Comptroller-General's  " 


ss 


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4)     JS 

2   o 


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bo 
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^\^V\^\^\\-V 


JS 

be 


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C  S 

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«2  j< 


Tp!»nFWKf 


JAIL  JOURNAL  241 

seal,  which  imports  that  it  was  read  by  that  functionary.  Of 
course  it  makes  no  allusion  to  political  affairs  in  Ireland  (if  there 
can  be  said,  indeed,  to  be  any  such  thing  as  political  affairs  there), 
moreover,  even  if  we  had  an  opportunity  of  talking  together 
face  to  face,  we  should  be  sure  to  differ  widely.  He  cannot 
endure  my  root-and-branch  revolutionism,  nor  I  his  moderation. 

But  what  a  ghastly  correspondence  is  this  !  It  is  miserable  to 
think  of  that  proud  soul,  striving  gallantly  to  stand — though  set 
in  a  frame  gradually  weakening  and  sinking- — still  to  stand,  "  Uke 
Teneriffe  or  Atlas  imremoved,"  holding  at  bay  a  Comptroller- 
General  and  his  whole  pack  of  hell-dogs.  They  evidently  mean 
to  break  his  spirit,  and  force  him  by  mere  dread  of  so  hideous  a 
death,  to  accept  their  "  comparative  Uberty."  Knox  and  I  do 
heartily  wish  he  would  yield  the  point.  This  confinement  is  as 
rigorous  and  humiliating  as  mine  was  at  Bermuda  :  and  I  beUeve 
he  is  more  sensitive  than  I.  We  have  sadly  smoked  the  pipe  of 
deliberation  over  this  affair  (sitting  in  the  bush,  at  sunset,  upon 
a  prostrate  gum-tree),  and  find  no  solution.  Yield,  or  bend,  he 
will  not — endure  the  torture  long,  he  c^not.  He  will  die  there. 
On  this  we  mused,  with  little  interruption  by  conversation,  save 
a  curse  or  two,  imtil  our  own  "  comparative  Uberty,"  even  in 
these  glorious  forest-soHtudes,  became  irksome,  wearisome, 
loathsome  to  us.  Sunset  was  bathing  those  gloomy  woods  of  the 
Blue  Hill  in  a  flood  of  purple  and  crimson  and  gold  ;  and  the 
clarion  note  of  the  "  white  magpie "  rang  clear  and  mellow 
through  the  still  evening  air.  For  us  in  vain.  We  wished  our- 
selves in  one  of  the  "  Probation  Stations  "  ;  and  feel  that  the 
aspect  of  a  surly  jailor,  and  the  grating  of  bolts  in  our  doors, 
would  be  wholesomer  sights  and  sounds  than  all  the  glory  and 
music  of  these  evening  woods. 

Meantime  we  are  to  make  up  a  small  parcel  of  books  which  he 

has  expressed  a  wish  to  have  in  his  dungeon — they  must  first, 

however,  be  subjected  to  the  censorship  and  criticism  of  Dr. 

Hampton  ;  and  if  he  think  them  inoffensive  they  will  be  placed 

in  the  hands  of  his  ward  and  pupil.     We  must  also  write  him, 

and  try  to  shake  his  resolution  about  the  parole.    Yet,  I  fear, 

in  vain.* 

♦About  five  months  after  this,  however,  Mr.  O'Brien  did  give  his  promise  ; 
and  came  to  reside  at  New  Nor^o^c,  intend^ig,  however,  to  revoke  tli? 
parole  after  a  tHn?. 

?6 


242  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Some  of  the  principal  settlers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bothwell 
have  called  upon  me  ;  and  we  have  spent  some  agreeable  evenings 
in  their  houses.  They  are  all  large  landed  proprietors,  and  have 
myriads  of  sheep  and  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills.  The  convict 
class,  who  form  the  majority  of  the  entire  population  of  the 
island,  are  strictlj^  tabooed.  But  by  common  consent  we  Irish 
rebels  are  excepted  from  the  proscription.  It  gave  me  a  sort  of 
home-feeling,  when  I  found  myself,  for  the  first  time  in  two  years, 
seated  in  the  pleasant  parlour  of  Ratho,  the  home  of  a  most 
amiable  and  accomplished  Edinburgh  family ;  the  social  tea- 
table  presided  over  by  one  of  the  most  graceful  and  elegant  of 
old  ladies ;  the  books,  music,  flowers — and  the  gentle  converse 
of  high-bred  women,  could  not  fail  to  soothe  and  soften  an 
exasperated  soul  in  any  but  its  very  darkest  hour  ;  and  I  walked 
home  to  our  cottage  dreaming,  dreaming  how  blessed  a 
privilege  it  is  to  have  a  home. 

Yet  I  have  written  to  Ireland,  still  dissuading  my  own  house- 
hold from  coming  out  here. 

April  26th. — Some  Irish  newspapers.  I  can  hardly  bear  to  look 
into  them.  But  John  Knox  diligently  scans  them,  with  many 
wry  faces,  and  sometimes  tells  me  part  of  the  news.  "  ConciUa- 
tion  Hall  "  still  stands,  still  spouts,  still  gathers  money,  though  not 
much  now,  and  still  sends  up  an  evil  smell  into  the  general  nostril. 
Also  another  small  opposition  "  Conciliation  Hall,"  named  "  Irish 
Alliance."  It  spouts  also  and  gathers  money,  in  humble  imitation 
of  its  great  parent  on  Burgh  Quay  ;  and  though  fresher  now  than 
the  real  old  Hall,  is  destined  I  think,  to  decompose  and  putrefy 
even  sooner.  In  America,  which  swarms  with  our  refugees  of  '48, 
there  have  been  pitiful  quarrels  and  even  riots  ;  in  which,  however, 
neither  O'Gorman  nor  Dillon  (now  residing  in  New  York)  has 
taken  any  part  whatsoever.  I  do  not  mean  to  censure  all  the 
parties  to  these  quarrels  ;  because  I  know  not  the  merits  or  de- 
merits of  the  questions  at  issue.  One  of  the  questions,  it  is  humi- 
liating to  me  to  know,  is  about  the  relative  importance  of  me, 
J.  M.,  compared  with  other  "  leaders."  Nevertheless,  some  of 
those  who  are  named  as  engaged  in  these  disputes  I  know  to 
be  honest  and  able  men.  At  this  distance  I  cannot  presume 
to  blame  them  for  a  course  of  conduct  which  may  have  been 
forced  upon  them.    It  is  easy  for  me,  here  at  the  antipodes,  cut 


JAIL  JOURNAL  243 

off  from  the  whole  scene  of  bustling  life  as  by  the  shearing  sc5^he 
of  death — with  the  whole  mass  of  the  planet  l5ang  between  me 
and  my  former  work  and  life — easy  for  me,  sitting  placid  under  a 
honeysuckle  tree,  basking  in  the  balmy  air  of  these  meadows  of 
Asphodel  01  Lotus,  facing  the  Magellan  clouds  and  stars  unknown 
before,  to  smoke  and  philosophise  with  tranquil  mind,  and  to  look 
down  upon  the  petty  squabbles  of  mankind  with  superior  smile. 
This,  perhaps,  is  not  well.  Those  refugees  are  exiles,  too — ^have 
suffered,  as  well  as  we,  the  demohtion  of  home,  and  means,  and 
hopes.  Moreover,  they  are  still  present  in  the  scene  of  our  failure  ; 
still  stung  by  the  coward  taunts  of  our  enemies,  and  feeling  the 
onus  on  them  to  do  somewhat,  to  move  somewhither — a  burden 
which  has  fallen  from  our  shoulders  for  the  present — yes,  and  no 
doubt  maddened,  too,  by  the  poisonous  rumours  and  "  preter- 
natural suspicions  "  that  hover  round  and  haunt  the  ruins  of 
a  baffled  cause.  Ah  !  we  can  all  meet  here,  by  the  margin  of 
the  smooth  lake,  and  under  the  greenwood  tree,  with  brow  as  un- 
ruffled as  the  lake,  smile  as  genial  as  the  riant  landscape — but 
place  us  in  the  very  heart  of  that  mean  turmoil,  even  in  the 
refuge  city  of  New  York — expose  us  to  the  keen  daily  torture  of 
conscious  helplessness,  while  so  much  is  to  do,  to  the  conversa- 
tion of  sinners,  the  canonisation  of  nonsense,  and  the  outrages 
of  a  triumphant  enemy — all  together,  and  then,  who  knoweth 
his  own  heart  ? 

April  28/A. — Rebels  went  to  church,  this  being  Sunday.  The 
post  of  Episcopal  clergj'man  for  this  district  is  now  vacant — ^the 
last  incumbent  (who  was  a  most  mediaeval  "  Puse5rite  ")  having 
been  removed  in  disgrace  ;  disgrace  not  for  Puseyism,  but  for 
swindling.  The  preacher,  therefore,  upon  this  day  was  Mr. 
Robertson,  a  Scottish  Presbyterian  divine  ;  who  is  a  real  literary 
man,  has  a  good  collection  of  books  himself,  and  has  got  up  a 
decent  village  library  besides. 

So  long  had  I  been  absent  from  rehgious  services  of  all  sorts, 
that  I  had  forgotten  the  practice  of  praying  for  the  Queen  of 
England  and  all  "  Governors,"  etc.  : — ^why,  this  includes  Lord 
Clarendon,  and  the  Sheriff  of  Dublin  !  One  could  not  rise  and 
leave  the  church,  because  we  ought  to  have  known  this  would  be 
done,  as  a  certain  part  of  the  service,  just  as  the  British  "  national 
anthem  "  is  played  in  Theatres  Royal,  between  play  and  after- 


244  JAIL  JOURNAL 

piece  : — and  a  man  has  no  right  to  go  into  a  church  to  disturb 
the  congregation.  Therefore,  I  contented  myself  with  cursing 
as  the  pastor  blessed. 

^oth. — At  the  lakes  yesterday  and  to-day.  I  ride  a  horse  lent 
me  by  Mr.  Reid,  of  Ratho  ;  John  Knox,  his  grey  pony,  a  half 
Arab  ;  St.  Kevin,  a  beautiful  and  fiery  little  black  horse  ;  and 
Meagher,  a  brown  pony.  We  have  had  some  wild  bush-riding,  the 
practice  of  these  laking-parties  being  to  ride  at  furious  speed 
through  almost  trackless  woods,  and  the  consequence  is  some- 
times disastrous.  Meanwhile,  St.  Kevin  leads  us  all  upon  his 
little  black  steed  ;  and  any  shepherd  who  might  see  us  careering 
in  this  dashing  style,  with  laugh  and  jest,  might  say  in  his  heart 
— ^There  goes  a  merry  party  !  But  let  not  the  shepherd  envy  us 
too  much,  or  be  very  sure  of  our  merriment.  Hast  any 
philosophy  in  thee,  shepherd  ?  Dost  thou  know  that  black 
Care  mounts  behind  the  horseman  ? 

Yet  this  life,  in  respect  it  is  in  the  woods,  pleases  me  well. 

We  cannot  with  safety  to  the  flocks,  bring  dogs  with  us  through 
this  country.  A  dog,  of  what  breed  soever,  unless  very  carefully 
educated  indeed,  will  occasionally  dart  aside  to  rush  amidst  a 
"  mob  "  of  sheep  (so  they  term  their  flocks),  and  before  you  can 
call  him,  he  will  have  worried  a  couple  or  so.  We  have  not, 
therefore,  had  a  kangaroo  hunt  yet ;  and,  indeed,  I  have  seen  but 
one  or  two  kangaroos.  They  are  growing  scarce ;  for  although 
there  are  very  f^w  human  inhabitants  in  these  parts  to  persecute 
them,  yet  every  human  inhabitant  is  a  shepherd  or  stock-keeper, 
with  a  double-barrelled  gun  and  plenty  of  time  on  his  hands ; 
and  then,  unluckily  for  the  kangaroo,  his  skin  is  worth  certain 
shillings  in  the  market ;  and  to  collect  kangaroo  and  opossum 
skins  is  one  of  the  methods  by  which  the  rural  population  here 
procure  money  to  gamble  with,  and  solace  their  leisure  hours 
with  rum. 

"  Rural  population  !  "  It  is  almost  profane  to  apply  the  title 
to  these  rascals.  All  the  shepherds  and  stock-keepers,  without 
exception,  are  convicts — many  of  them  thrice-convicted  convicts  ! 
There  is  no  peasantry.  Very  few  of  them  have  wives  ;  still  fewer 
families ;  and  the  fewer  the  better.  Their  wives  are  always 
transported  women,  too  :  shop-lifters,  prostitutes,  pickpockets, 
and  other  such  sweepings  of  the  London  pavements.     Yet,  after 


JAIL  JOURNAL  245 

all,  what  a  strange  animal  is  man  !  The  best  shepherds  in  Van 
Diemen's  Land  are  London  thieves — men  who  never  saw  a  Uve 
sheep  before  they  were  transported  ;  and,  what  is  stranger  still, 
many  of  them  grow  rather  decent — ^it  would  be  too  strong  to  say 
honest — ^by  their  mere  contact  with  their  mother  earth  here. 
They  are  friendly  to  one  another — ^hospitable  to  travellers  (partly 
because  they  thirst  for  news),  and  otherwise  comport  themselves 
partly  Uke  human  beings.  Yet  human  they  are  not.  Their 
training  has  made  them  subterhuman,  preterhuman ;  and  the 
system  of  British  "  reformatory  discipline  "  has  gone  as  near  to 
making  them  perfect  fiends,  as  human  wit  can  go.  One  is 
perpetually  reminded  here  of  that  hideous  description  of  Van 
Diemen's  Land,  given  by  a  person  who  knew  it  well  :■ — "  Let  a 
man  be  what  he  will  when  he  comes  here,  the  human  heart  is 
taken  out  of  him,  and  there  is  given  to  him  the  heart  of  a 
beast."  What  a  blessing  to  these  creatures,  and  to  mankind, 
both  in  the  northern  hemisphere  and  the  southern,  if  they  had 
been  hanged ! 

Rode  down  this  evening.  A  storm  of  rain  and  sleet.  The 
Tasmanian  winter  is  approaching. 

July  22nd. — Have  had  a  serious  consultation  with  John  Martin, 
as  to  whether  I  should  at  length  allow  my  wife  and  family  to 
come  out  to  Van  Diemen's  Land.  None  of  our  friends,  except 
Mr.  O'Brien,  seem  to  regard  my  speedy  release  as  a  thing  at  all 
probable.  I  may  have  to  Uve  the  remaining  twelve  years  of  my 
sentence  here,  unless  some  chance  arises  of  effecting  an  escape 
honourably.  To  escape  otherwise,  that  is  clandestinely,  would 
indeed  be  easy  to  all  of  us  at  any  time ;  but  it  is  not  to  be 
thought  of. 

It  is  grievous  to  think  of  bringing  up  children  in  this  island ; 
yet  by  fixing  my  residence  in  this  remote,  thinly-peopled,  and 
pastoral  district,  engaging  in  some  sort  of  farming  and  cattle- 
feeding,  and  mingUng  in  the  society  of  the  good  quiet  colonists 
here,  we  might  almost  forget  at  times,  the  daily  and  hourly 
outrage  that  our  enemies  put  upon  us  in  keeping  us  here  at 
all ;  and  enjoy  the  glorious  health  which  this  matchless  cUmate 
would  be  almost  sure  to  inoculate  our  veins  withal.  Several 
families  (one  especially,  in  which  I  have  grown  intimate)  express 
•a  strong  wish  to  see  my  family  residing  with  me  here.    I  could 


246  JAIL  JOURNAL 

devote  a  good  deal  of  time,  also,  to  teaching  the  children  ; 
and,  in  short,  I  do  so  pine  for  something  resembling  a  home — 
something  that  I  could  occasionally  almost  fancy  a  real  home — 
that  I  have  written  this  day  to  Newry,  inviting  all  my  house- 
hold to  the  antipodes.     Pray  God,  I  have  done  right. 

Visit  from  Terence  MacManus  ;  he  has  ridden  up  the  valley  of 
the  Derwent  and  Clyde  from  New  Norfolk,  to  see  us  by  stealth. 
If  discovered  outside  the  bounds  prescribed  to  him,  he  would  be 
probably  placed  in  custody  and  subjected  to  some  punishment. 
He  came  to  our  door  in  the  evening,  and  sent  in  his  name  (Dr. 
Smith)  by  the  little  girl.  We  go  up  to  the  lakes  again  the  day 
after  to-morrow,  and  have  induced  him  to  prolong  his  trip  so  far 
along  with  us,  though  h^  will  then  be  sixty-five  miles  from  his 
dungeon  ;  but  the  temptation  of  meeting  Meagher  and  St.  Kevin, 
and  of  seeing  an  actual  congregation  of  five  Irish  rebels  together 
again  (more  than  enough,  by  law,  to  make  a  "  riot ")  is  too 
strong  for  him  to  resist.  When  we  shall  have  drawn  together 
such  a  power,  we  hope  to  be  strong  enough,  if  not  to  make  a 
revolution,  at  least  to  shoot  some  ducks.  The  lakes  swarm  with 
a  very  fine  kind  of  duck,  the  "  black-duck,"  besides  the  "  moun- 
tain-duck," a  small  kind  with  splendid  plumage,  teal,  musk- 
duck,  a  very  large  but  uneatable  bird,  not  to  mention  jet-black 
swans,  which  swim  either  in  pairs,  or  in  fleets  of  five  or 
six. 

30/A. — MacManus  made  some  days  pass  pleasantly  for  us,  but 
he  is  gone  home — that  is,  to  his  dungeon  district.  We  have  ridden 
about  twelve  miles  north-west  from  Bothwell,  to  see  the  Shannon. 
All  the  way,  the  country,  the  trees,  the  hills,  have  that  sameness 
in  figure  and  colour  which  makes  the  island  so  uniform — valley 
and  bluff  perpetually  repeating  its  own  features,  and  every  wooded 
hill  mirroring  the  wooded  hill  that  stands  opposite.  On  all  the 
road,  we  passed  but  one  house  ;  a  piece  of  Tudor  barbarism  in 
yellow  stone,  lately  built  by  an  eccentric  settler  in  the  dreariest 
spot  he  could  find  within  many  a  league.  At  last  we  arrived  at 
the  brink  of  a  deep  valley,  beyond  which,  on  the  western  side,  the 
hills  rose  more  wild  and  mountainous.  The  valley  spreads  just 
below  us  into  a  grassy  plain,  with  a  few  fine  "  black  gums  "  dotting 
its  green  floor  ;  cind  as  we  descended,  we  soon  heard  the  mur- 
murous dashing  of  a  river  hidden  yet  by  the  trees.    It  is  the 


JAIL  JOURNAL  247 

Shannon,  a  fUShing,  whirling,  tumultuous  stream  that  derives  its 
waters  from  the  "  Big  Lake,"  a  noble  reservoir  some  thirty  miles 
farther  to  the  northwest,  lying  high  on  a  desolate  plateau  of 
Tasmania.  It  is  the  greatest  lake  in  the  island,  and  is  said  to 
measure  ninety  miles  round.  Through  the  whole  of  its  course 
this  river  runs  very  rapidly,  having  a  fall  of  two  thousand  feet 
in  those  thirty  miles  ;  and  like  all  the  other  Van  Diemen's  Land 
rivers,  it  is  icy  cold. 

All  my  life  long  I  have  delighted  in  rivers,  rivulets,  rills,  fierce 
torrents  tearing  their  rocky  beds,  gliding  dimpled  brooks  kissing 
a  daisied  marge.  The  tinkle,  or  murmur,  or  deep-resounding  roll, 
or  raving  roar  of  running  water  is  of  all  sounds  my  ears  ever  hear 
now,  the  most  homely.  Nothing  else  in  this  land  looks  or  sounds 
like  home.  The  birds  have  a  foreign  tongue :  the  very  trees 
whispering  to  the  wind,  whisper  in  accents  unknown  to  me  ;  for 
your  gum-tree  leaves  are  all  hard,  homy,  poHshed  as  the  laurel — 
besides,  they  have  neither  upper  nor  imder  side,  but  are  set  on  with 
the  plane  of  them  vertical ;  wherefore,  they  can  never,  never — ^let 
breeze  pipe  or  zephyr  breathe  as  it  will — never  can  they  whisper, 
quiver,  sigh  or  sing,  as  do  the  beeches  and  the  sycamores  of  old 
Rostrevor.  Yes,  all  sights  and  soimds  of  nature  are  ahen  and 
outlandish — suggestive  of  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn  and  the 
Antarctic  Circle — save  only  the  sparkle  and  the  music  of  the 
streams.  Well  I  know  the  voice  of  this  eloquent  river  :  it  talks  to 
me,  and  to  the  woods  and  rocks,  in  the  same  tongue  and  dialect 
wherein  the  Roe  discoursed  to  me,  a  child ;  in  its  crystalline  gush 
my  heart  and  brain  are  bathed  ;  and  I  hear,  in  its  plaintive  chime, 
all  the  blended  voices  of  history  and  prophecy  and  poesy  from 
the  beginning.  Not  cooler  or  fresher  was  the  Thracian  Hebrus  ; 
not  purer  were  Abana  and  Pharpar ;  not  more  ancient  and 
venerable  is  Father  Nilus.  Before  the  quiet  flow  of  the  Eg5^tian 
river  was  yet  disturbed  by  the  jabber  of  priests  of  Meroe — ^before 
the  djmasty  was  yet  bred  that  quaffed  the  sacred  wave  of 
Choaspes,  "  the  drink  of  none  but  kings  " — ere  its  lordly  name- 
sake river,  in  Erin  of  the  streams,  reflected  yet  upon  its  bosom  a 
Pillar  Tower,  or  heard  the  chimes  from  its  Seven  Churches, 
this  river  was  rushing  through  its  lonely  glen  to  the 
southern  sea,  was  singing  its  mystic  song  to  these  pnmeval 
woods. 


^4^  JAIL  jdVMAL 

"  Oh  !  Sun-loved  River  1  wherefore  dost  thou  hum^ 

Hum,  hum,  alway  thy  strauige,  deep,  mystic  song 
Unto  the  rocks  and  strands  ? — ^for  they  are  dumb^ 

And  answer  nothing  as  thou  flowest  along. 
Why  singest  so,  all  hours  of  night  and  day  ? 

Ah  I  river  !  my  best  river  I  thou,  I  know,  art  seeking 
Some  land  where  souls  have  still  the  gift  of  speaking 

With  Nature  in  her  own  old  wondrous  way  !" 

1  delight  in  poets  who  delight  in  rivers ;  and  for  this  do  I  love 
that  sweet  singer,  through  whose  inner  ear  and  brain  the  gush  of 
his  native  Aufidus  for  ever  streamed  and  flashed — ^how  some 
perennial  brook  of  crystal  gUmmered  for  ever  through  all  his 
day-dreams  !  how  he  yearned  to  marry  his  own  immortality  with 
the  eternal  murmuring  hymn  of  that  bright  Blandusian  fount ! 
Wisely,  too,  and  learnedly  did  Clarence  Mangan  discourse  with 
the  rivers,  and  attune  his  notes  to  their  wondrous  music.  How 
gloriously  he  interprets  the  German  Moerike  and  his  melodious 
theme ! — 

"  What  on  cold  earth,  is  deep  as  thou  ?     Is  aught  ? 
Love  is  as  deep.  Love  only  is  as  deep : 
Love  lavisheth  all,  yet  loseth,  lacketh  naught ; 
Like  thee,  too.  Love  can  neither  pause  nor  sleep. 

"  Roll  on,  thou  loving  river,  thou  !     Lift  up 

Thy  waves,  those  eyes  bright  with  a  riotous  laughing  I 
Thou  makest  me  immortal !     I  am  quaffing 
The  wine  of  rapture  from  no  earthly  cup  1  " 

So,  too,  with  Mueller ;  he  deUvers  himself  and  you  up  to  the 
entrancement  of  the  Naiad  : — 

"There  danceth  adown  the  mountain, 
The  child  of  a  lofty  race : 
A  streamlet,  fresh  from  its  fountain, 
Hies  through  the  valley  apace. 

"  Some  fairy  hath  whispered,  '  Follow  ' 
And  1  have  obeyed  her  well : 
I  thread  the  blossomy  hollow. 
With  my  pilgrim  staflE  and  shell. 

"On,  on,  behold  me  straying, 
And  ever  beside  the  stream, 
As  I  list  its  murmurous  pla3dng. 

And  mark  how  its  wavelets  gleam. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  249 

"  Can  this  be  the  path  I  intended  ? 
Oh !  Sorceress,  what  shall  I  say  ? 
Thy  dazzle  and  music  blended, 
Have  wiled  my  reason  away ! 

"No  mortal  sounds  are  winging 
Their  wonted  way  along  ; 
Oh,  no !  some  Naiad  is  singing 
A  flattering  summer-song  I 

And  loudlier  doth  she  flatter 

And  loudlier,  loudlier  still " 


But,  behold !  plump  into  the  water,  just  under  the  bank, 
tumbles  a  Platypus,  uncouth,  amphibious  quadruped,  with 
broad  duck-bill ;  and  shrill  from  a  neighbouring  gum-tree 
yells  the  "  laughing  jackass " — a  noisy  bird  so  named  by 
profane  colonists. 

We  are  in  Australia,  then  !  Knox  has  been  sitting  on  the  bank, 
musing  with  dreamy  eyes  on  the  pzissing  waters  :  but  now  we 
awake,  and  see  that  the  dusk  is  approaching,  a  dusk  that  will 
call  forth  stars  which  never  glassed  themselves  in  the  other 
Shannon.  So  we  mount  for  our  "  registered  lodgings  "  in  Both- 
well,  and  reluctantly  leave  that  most  lovely  glen. 

Yes,  in  Australia,  indeed !  We  overtake  on  our  track  home- 
ward, a  man  and  woman — the  woman,  a  hideous  and  obscene- 
looking  creature,  with  a  brandy-bloated  face,  and  a  white  satin 
bonnet,  adorned  with  artificial  flowers.  She  is  a  pass-holding 
servant,  just  discharged  from  some  remote  settler's  house,  and 
she  is  going  to  Hobart  Town  in  custody.  The  man  is  a  convict 
constable  :  he  carries  a  musket  on  his  shoulder,  and  his  blue 
frock  is  girt  by  a  belt,  on  which  hang  and  jingle  a  pair  of 
handcuffs.  He  knows  us,  and  touches  his  cap  as  we  ride 
hastily  past. 

May  8th,  1851 — Bothwell. — For  many  months  I  have  not  jotted 
down  a  date  or  incident.  Our  life  here  has  been  uniform  and  dull, 
and  our  main  object  has  been  to  kill  thought  by  violent  exercise 
on  foot  and  on  horseback.  We  still  go  to  the  lakes  and  meet  with 
Meagher,  and  this  is  our  chiefest  pleasure ;  but  O'Doherty 
has  removed  to  Hobart  Town,  and  has  employment  in  his 
profession. 


250  JAIL  JOURNAL 

To-morrow,  I  go,  by  permission  of  the  gaolers,  to  Hobart  Town 
also,  to  meet  my  wife  and  family,  who  are  due  by  this  time : 
but  I  have  yet  no  information  as  to  the  ship  they  have  sailed  in, 
or  whether  Hobart  Town  is  the  port  they  are  bound  for.  The 
moment  they  arrive,  then  back  to  the  bocage  of  Bothwell ! 
Qtwd  exeat  bene  I 


CHAPTER  XVII 

9 

May  2ist,  185 1 — Hobart  Town. — An  excursion  yesterday  to 
Brown's  River,  with  St.  Kevin.  He  borrowed  a  horse  for  the  occa- 
sion. I  have  here  my  own  Fleur-de-lis  (pretty  chestnut  mare, 
destined  for  my  wife) ;  so,  after  breakfast,  I  gave  myself  up 
implicitly  into  the  hands  of  St.  Kevin,  and  we  saUied  forth  from 
the  town  in  a  southerly  direction,  by  the  Sandy  Bay  Road,  leading 
along  the  shore  of  the  estuary.  On  the  right,  mountains  that  form 
the  roots  of  Mount  Wellington  ;  on  the  left,  the  broad  blue  Der- 
went.  For  some  miles  the  road  is  studded  with  pretty  villas,  the 
country  residences  of  some  of  the  wealthy  Hobartonians  ;  and  all 
these  have  luxurious  gardens.  Gardens,  indeed,  are  a  luxury  to 
which  this  soil  and  cUmate  afford  all  facilities  and  temptations. 
All  the  flowers  that  grow  in  EngUsh  gardens,  and  many  of  those 
which  must  in  England  be  protected  by  green-houses,  thrive  and 
flourish  here  with  little  care  ;  and  some  of  the  ornamental  flower- 
ing shrubs,  for  instance,  the  common  hawthome  and  sweet-briar, 
which  have  been  brought  from  Europe  by  the  colonists,  blossom 
in  Tasmania  more  richly  than  at  home.  There  is  now  hardly  a 
settler's  house  without  hedges  of  sweet-briar  ;  knd  they  are  more 
uniformly  and  all  over  radiant,  both  summer  and  winter — in  smn- 
mer  with  roses,  in  winter  with  scarlet  berries — ^than  I  ever  saw 
hedges  before.  Besides  the  imported  European  flowers  and 
shrubs,  there  are  some  very  beautiful  native  trees,  generally 
found  in  deep  mountain  valleys,  which  add  much  to  the  glory  of 
the  gardens  ;  but  the  colonists  usually  seem  to  prefer  surroimding 
their  new  houses  with  something  that  will  remind  them  of  the 
old ;  so  that  all  over  the  country,  round  the  cottages,  instead  of 
the  gorgeous  golden-flowered  mimosa,  you  may  see  the  more 
lowly,  but  not  less  golden  gorse,  called  in  the  North  of  Ireland, 
whin. 

No  indigenous  plant  in  all  Van  Diemen's  Land  is  identical  with 
any  European  plant ;  even  the  grass  is  altogether  different — much 
less  green  and  succulent,  but  far  more  nutritive  to  cattle  in 

251 


252  JAIL  JOURNAL 

proportion  to  its  quantity.  The  best  native  gi'ass  is  of  a  gfeyish- 
yellow  colour,  and  grows  in  little,  short,  woolly  tufts,  which  turn 
almost  white  at  the  top  in  summer ;  so  that  wherever  one  sees  a 
field  of  the  true  emerald  green,  he  may  be  sure  it  is  artificial  grass, 
grown  originally  from  European  seed.  The  native  flowers  are 
abimdant,  and  many  of  them  splendid,  especially  up  in  the  lake 
country.  One  of  them  is  superb,  the  Waratah  ;  but  it  grows  only 
on  the  very  summits  of  some  high  and  almost  inaccessible  moun- 
tains. The  whole  bush,  however,  is  adorned  with  a  wonderful 
variety  of  plants,  like  heaths  (yet  not  the  true  erica),  bearing 
purple,  crimson,  scarlet,  white,  or  rose-coloured  bells.  The  finest 
of  them  all  has  no  bell  or  visible  petals  at  all,  but  roimd  scarlet 
berries,  about  the  size  of  a  pea,  which  cluster  so  thickly  on  it 
as  nearly  to  hide  its  rich  dark  green  leaves ;  and  the  savage 
rocks  are  sometimes  found  clothed  all  over  with  this  imperial 
Tyrian  mantle. 

In  our  wanderings  through  the  woods  John  Knox  thinks  he  has 
discovered  one  European  plant^the  common  flax.  Certainly  in 
the  marshy  land,  near  Lake  Sorel,  we  have  plucked  stalks  of  the 
veritable  flax,  with  its  blue  flower  and  slender  graceful  stem,  but 
shorter  than  Irish  flax,  which,  however,  may  be  imputed  to  the 
dryer  chmate.  I  do  not  believe  this  flax  is  indigenous.  There  are 
a  thousand  ways  in  which  grains  of  flax-seed  may  have  come 
out  here,  mixed  with  com  or  grass  seeds,  and  cattle  have 
long  been  grazing,  and  even  some  oats  were  formerly  grown,, 
at  Lake  Sorel, 

The  genial  kindness  of  this  climate  towards  all  sorts  of  animal 
and  vegetable  life,  is  admirable  to  behold.  Twenty  years  ago 
there  was  not  a  bee  in  the  island.  Some  settler  brought  a  hive  ; 
and  now  the  land  sings  with  them.  It  seems  the  flowers  of  the 
fragrant  gum  and  mimosa  furnish  food  for  them.  The  Tasmanian 
honey  is  the  best  in  the  world  ;  every  settler's  garden  has  a  long 
row  of  bee-hives  (which,  in  fact,  are  nothing  but  old  tea-boxes)  } 
and  they  need  no  care  either  in  winter  or  summer.  One  man 
here,  in  Bothwell,  advertised  last  year  for  sale  three  tons  of 
honey,  all  produced  in  his  own  garden. 

In  this  gracious  southern  air,  too,  all  breeds  of  dogs  grow  larger 
and  handsomer,  in  the  second  dog-generation.  Of  sheep-dogs- 
there  are  immense  numbers  ;  and  instead  of  the  rough  and  shabby 


JAIL  JOURNAL  253 

looking  collie,  the  sheep-dog  here  is  a  large  and  handsome  dog, 
with  silky,  glossy  long  hair.  The  dogs,  also,  as  well  as  the  horses, 
are  more  good-humoured  than  at  home :  young  horses,  though  with 
quite  as  high  spirit,  have  far  less  vice ;  and  that  this  circumstance 
is  due  to  climate  there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  the  same  difference  in 
temper  is  very  observable  in  the  human  race  of  these  parts. 
Native  Tasmanieins,  both  men  and  women,  grow  up  frequently 
tall,  straight,  and  handsome,  with  a  mild  expression  of  counten- 
ance, and  manners  always  affable,  gentle,  and  kindly.  They 
have,  however,  the  same  languor  that  is  said  to  characterise  all 
the  Creole  races  of  America  and  the  West  Indies — that  soft, 
luxurious,  voluptuous  languor  which  becomes  the  girls  rather 
better  than  the  men.  On  the  whole,  our  species  grows  to  a 
splendid  perfection  here ;  but  the  finest  specimens  of  the  genus 
are  those  who  have  been  bom  in  the  northern  hemisphere  and 
who  came  hither  children.  They  have  both  the  European 
stamina  and  the  southern  culture  in  so  matchless  a  clime,  and 
the  result  is  sometimes  marvellous.  A  young  lady  there  is,  now 
in  Hobart  Town,  bom  in  France  of  English  parents,  and  brought 
out  here  at  three  or  four  years  of  age,  upon  whom,  after  Europe 
had  given  her  all  it  could,  the  southern  stars  must  have  rained 
their  choicest,  rarest  influences.  She  is  a  most  superb  and 
imperial  beauty,  a  beauty  proud  and  fuissante,  whose  first  over- 
powering glance  would  turn  you  pale,  and  stop  your  pulse  for  a 
beat  or  two.  One  loves  to  see  how  far  Nature  can  go,  how 
much  Nature  can  do,  giving  her  the  most  favourable  conditions, 
materials,  and  influences  she  can  ask,  and  letting  her  work  her 
very  best.  This  woman,  I  apprehend,  is  her  chef-d' ceuvre — she 
will  never  beat  this  :  yet  it  is  praiseworthy  to  be  always  making 
the  attempt,  and  she  ought  not  to  be  discouraged — doubtless 
she  will  yet  turn  out  pretty  pieces  of  workmanship.  In  the 
meantime  it  is  one  of  the  fasti  in  any  man's  life  when  his  eyes 
have  seen  the  most  beautiful — and  the  first  day  of  such  a  vision 
is  a  white  day  in  his  history. 

But  in  this  kind  of  rhapsody  I  must  not  forget  that  St.  Kevin 
and  I  are  now  on  horseback,  on  our  way  to  Brown's  River.  On 
we  ride,  along  the  skirts  of  the  right-hand  hills,  or  on  near  the 
strand  of  the  left-hand  river ;  the  road  sometimes  crossing  deep 
ravines,  that  bring  some  of  Mount  Wellington's  thousjiiid  fivxilets 


254  JAIL  JOURNAL 

trickling  to  the  Derwent.  The  day  is  gloriously  bright  and  warm, 
though  early  in  winter  ;  the  trees  ghttering  and  shivering  with  all 
their  polished  leaves  in  the  sun  and  wind  ;  the  parrots  all  awake, 
chirping,  screaming,  flashing  in  their  ruby  and  emerald  radiance 
from  branch  to  branch.  At  six  miles  from  Hobzirt  Town,  all  the 
suburban  boxes  and  their  gardens  have  ceased  and  vanished  ;  the 
metropolis  of  scoundreldom  lies  behind  us ;  and  so  lonely  are 
the  forests  on  our  right  and  the  broad  bay  on  our  left,  that  St. 
Kevin  thinks  himself  riding  by  the  shore  of  Lake  Sorel,  or, 
perad  vent  lire,  even  dreams  he  wanders,  once  again. 

By  that  lake  whose  gloomy  shore, 
Skylark  never  warbled  o'er. 

St.  Kevin  is  sometimes  gloomy  and  desponding ;  and  the  mood  is 
on  him  now  for  a  few  minutes  There  dwells  in  Ireland — I  should 
have  known  it  well,  though  he  had  never  told  me — a  dark-eyed 
lady,  a  fair  and  gentle  lady,  with  hair  like  blackest  midnight ;  and 
in  the  tangle  of  those  silken  tresses  she  has  bound  my  poor  friend's 
soul ;  round  the  solid  hemisphere  it  has  held  him,  and  he  drags  a 
lengthening  chain.  The  potency  of  those  dark  glances,  darting 
like  electricity  through  the  dull  massive  planet,  shooting  through 
crust  and  centre,  strikes  him  here,  and  flashes  on  his  day-dream. 
Now  we  approach  the  brow  of  a  deep  glen,  where  trees  of  vast 
height  wave  their  tops  far  beneath  our  feet :  and  the  farther  side 
of  the  glen  is  formed  by  a  promontory  that  runs  out  into  the  bay, 
with  steep  and  rocky  sides  worn  into  cliffs  and  caves — caves 
floored  with  silvery  sand,  shell-strewn,  such  as  in  European  seas 
would  have  been  consecrate  of  old  to  some  Undine's  love  — 
caves  whither  ligea,  if  she  had  known  the  way,  might  have 
come  to  comb  her  hair ;  and  over  the  soft  swelling  slope  of  the 
hill  above,  embowered  so  gracefully  in  trees,  what  building 
stands  ?  Is  that  a  temple  crowning  the  promontory  as  the 
pillared  portico  crowns  Simium  ?  Or  a  villa,  carrying  you  back 
to  Baiae  ?  Damnation  !  it  is  a  convict  "  barrack."  And  as  we 
follow  the  winding  of  the  road  through  that  romantic  glen,  we 
meet  parties  of  miserable  wretches  harnessed  to  gravel  carts,  and 
drawing  the  same  under  orders  of  an  overseer.  The  men  are 
dressed  in  piebald  suits  of  yellow  and  grey,  and  with  their  hair 
close    cropped,    their    close     leathern    caps,     and    han^-dog 


JAIL  JOURNAL  255 

countenances,  wear  a  most  evil,  rueful,  and  abominable  aspect. 
They  give  us  a  vacant  but  impudent  stare  as  we  ride  by.  I 
wish  you  well,  my  poor  fellows ;  but  you  ought  all  to  have 
been  hanged  long  ago  ! 

The  next  hollow  we  come  to  is  the  valley  of  Brown's  River.  I 
see  little  in  it,  not  being  in  the  humour.  This  is  a  favourite  ex- 
cursion for  Hobart  Town  people  when  they  plan  a  day's  amuse- 
ment ;  so  that,  of  course,  it  has  a  mean  suburban  air.  The  river 
itself  is  a  very  small  stream ;  not  so  ample  as  our  Bothwell 
Clyde  ;  and  the  whole  valley  is  precisely  like  every  other  valley 
in  the  country,  save  that  the  head  of  it,  where  the  gorge  is 
narrow,  and  loses  itself  at  last  in  the  gloomy  mass  of  Mount 
Wellington,  is  on  a  grand  scale.  We  walked  all  day  on  the 
sands  and  cliffs  of  the  bay  shore,  dined  at  the  hotel,  and  rode 
back  to  town. 

May  23rd. — A  letter  from  Adelaide,  in  South  Australia.  It  is 
from  my  wife.  They  have  arrived  there  (my  whole  household)  in 
the  ship  Condor,  from  Liverpool,  seven  in  number,  including  a 
servant.  It  seems  they  took  passage  to  Melbourne,  in  Port 
Philip,  whence  there  is  communication  twice  a  week  with  Van 
Diemen's  Land,  and  did  not  know,  till  after  the  ship  was  at  sea, 
that  she  was  to  touch  first  at  Adelaide,  and  discharge  some  cargo 
there  ;  a  business  which  will  hold  them  a  full  month.  My  wife 
is  uneasy  and  impatient,  and  announces  to  me  that  she  will  quit 
the  Condor,  and  take  passage  in  some  of  the  small  brigs  or 
schooners  plying  either  to  Hobart  Town  or  Launceston,  so  that 
she  may  now  be  at  sea  on  this  second  voyage. 

25/A. — More  news  from  Adelaide.  A  ship-captain  found  me 
out  to-day  at  my  lodging  :  told  me  he  commanded  the  Maid  of 
Erin,  just  arrived  from  Adelaide — ^that  my  family  were  to  come 
on  by  his  vessel,  but  thought  they  would  not  have  sufficient 
accommodation  in  her — that,  therefore,  they  had  taken  passage  in 
a  brigantine,  bound  for  Launceston :  and,  said  the  captain,  "  if 
you  intend  to  meet  your  lady  on  her  arrival,  you  had  better  go  to 
Laimceston  at  once."  No  more  need  be  said.  I  take  my  seat 
in  the  night  mail  coach  for  Launceston — one  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  off. 

Longford,  June  glh. — Longford  is  a  village  on  the  South  Esk, 
twelve  pijles  from  ]Lawic?gtoii.    The  brig  that  l?e?irs  all  my  care 


( 


256  JAIL  JOURNAL 

has  not  yet  arrived  ;  and  the  weather  has  grown,  for  the  last  week, 
furiously  tempestuous.  Bass's  Straits  are  formidable  in  this  sort 
of  weather  :  so  that  wrecks  and  disasters  are  looked  for.  I  am 
on  a  visit  here  with  an  old  schoolfellow,  a  Mr.  Pooler,  formerly 
of  Armagh,  who  is  now  an  extensive  merchemt  of  Tasmania,  and 
has  at  Longford  the  largest  grain-stores  in  the  island. 

For  one  day  and  night  I  was  in  prison  at  Launceston,  which 
fell  out  thus  : — having  got  sudden  information  at  Hobart  Town 
that  my  family  might  be  looked  for  at  the  north  side  of  the  island 
instead  of  the  south,  I  went  to  an  official  person  (the  Deputy- 
Comptroller),  who  has  charge  of  such  matters,  told  him  I  must 
go  at  once,  and  was  by  him  exhorted  to  lose  no  time.  The 
formal  documents  authorising  my  change  of  place  would  be  for- 
warded by  him  through  the  post,  so  that  no  delay  need  intervene 
at  Hobart  Town,  nor  any  inconvenience  happen  to  me  at  Launces- 
ton. I  was  obliged  to  the  official  person  for  his  civility  (because 
he  might  be  uncivil  if  he  liked),  and  hurried  off  without  a  minute's 
delay  ;  travelled  all  night  ;  arrived  at  Laimceston  by  nine  next 
morning,  and  put  up  at  the  Cornwall  Hotel ;  walked  up  the  hill 
where  stands  the  signal  flag-staff,  and  awaited  all  day  the  reports 
of  the  signal-master.  It  was  rainy  and  stormy  ;  nothing  came 
up  the  Tamar,  which  is  a  winding  and  dangerous  estuary,  forty- 
five  miles  long  from  Laimceston  to  the  sea.  Next  morning  I  be- 
thought myself  that  I  had  better  report  my  presence  in  Launces- 
ton to  the  police  magistrate  of  the  town  ;  and  accordingly  pro- 
ceeded to  the  police-office,  which  I  found  crowded  by  the  town's 
people  getting  police  business  transacted.  I  walked  in  ;  asked 
the  clerk  if  the  police  magistrate  of  Launceston  was  present. 
"  Yes,  sir,"  he  said,  pointing  to  a  tall,  elderly,  and  very  ill- 
favoured  person,  who  occupied  the  bench,  and  who  now  gazed 
at  me  with  evident  curiosity,  as  to  what  urgent  business  I  could 
have,  which  might  justify  me  in  stopping  his  court-business. 
When  he  was  pointed  out,  I  said,  "  My  name  is  John  Mitchel. 
I  have  come  here  to  tell  you  that  I  am  now  in  Launceston,  and 
that  I  stay  at  the  Cornwall." 

Mr.  Gunn  seemed  in  consternation  whenever  I  mentioned  my 
name — ^because  it  was  from  Launceston,  and  from  within  his 
jurisdiction,  that  MacManus  had  happily  escaped  only  a  few  weeks 
l)e(or?.    He  asjce^  me,  with  sopie  a^tation,  \vh?it  my  err^4  was 


John  Blake  Dillon 


JAIL  JOURNAL  257 

in  Launceston.  "  To  meet  my  Wife  and  family,  now  due,  and  ex- 
pected at  this  port."  "  Have  you  had  permission  to  come  here  ?  " 
"  Yes."  "  I  have  had  no  notification  of  it."  "  Can't  help  that." 
"  Sir,  I  tell  you  I  know  nothing  of  your  being  permitted  to  come 
here."  "  Sir,"  I  replied,  "  I  did  not  come  to  discuss  the  matter 
with  you,  I  came  to  tell  you  that  I  am  John  Mitchel,  that  I  am 
in  Launceston,  and  that  I  stay  at  the  Cornwall  Hotel."  With 
that  I  turned  and  left  the  office  :  but  I  knew  very  well  I  should 
hear  more  of  the  matter ;  for  it  was  now  clear  to  me  that  my 
polite  friend  in  the  Comptroller-General's  office  must  have 
forgotten  to  forward  the  needful  paper  to  this  old  Gunn. 

It  befel  as  I  expected.  An  hour  after  leaving  the  office  I  was 
walking  with  the  aforesaid  Mr.  Pooler  in  Brisbane  Street ;  when 
a  man  dressed  in  somewhat  gentlemanly  style  came  up,  and  said, 
"  I  believe,  sir,  you  are  Mr.  Mitchel." — "  Yes," — "  Mr.  Gunn  has 
directed  me  to  require  your  attendance  in  the  police-office.  I  am 
the  chief-constable  of  Launceston." — "  Am  I  in  custody,  then  ?  " 
He  bowed,  and  said  he  would  show  me  the  way.  When  we 
entered  the  police-office,  Mr.  Gunn  was  looking  very  formidable 
and  determined.  "  Pray,"  he  said,  "  have  you  any  written 
authority  to  be  in  Laimceston  ?  " — "  No." — "  Then,  Davis  (the 
chief-constable),  make  out  the  examinations." — "  Now,  sir,"  he 
said  to  me,  "  I  shall  teach  you  to  pay  proper  respect  to  a  magis- 
trate on  the  bench.  When  you  came  into  this  office,  an  hour  ago, 
your  deportment  was  exceedingly  incorrect :  it  was  haughty,  sir  ; 
it  was  contemptuous,  sir  ;  it  was  insolent,  sir.  Davis,  have  you 
that  examination  ready  ?  "  I  asked  him  what  he  was  going  to  do 
with  me.  "  Send  you  to  jail,  sir." — "  Very  well,  I  suppose  you 
have  the  power  to  do  so  ;  my  behaviour  may  have  been  con- 
temptuous ;  but  I  did  not  intend,  whatever  I  may  have  felt,  to 
let  it  appear  in  my  manner." — "  Davis,  read  the  examination." 
The  document  was  read.  It  bore  that  I,  a  prisoner,  holding  a 
"  ticket-of-leave,"  had  come  from  my  registered  residence — ■ 
namely,  Bothwell,  to  Launceston,  without  a  passport ;  and  after 
two  or  three  questions  asked  of  the  police,  I  was  brought  off  by 
three  constables  and  thrust  into  Launceston  Jail.  A  special 
express  messenger  was  at  the  same  time  despatched  to  Hobart 
Town,  inquiring  what  was  to  be  done  with  me. 

The  police  magistrate,  I  suppose,  could  not  have  acted  other- 

17      . 


258  JAIL  JOURNAL 

wise ;  a  want  of  papers  and  passports  is  certainly  suspicious ;  and 
contemptuous  behaviour  irritating  to  the  magisterial  mind  ;  at 
anyrate,  the  affair  was  wholly  indifferent  to  me  but  for  one 
circumstance- — my  wife  might  arrive  that  very  day ;  and  our 
first  meeting,  after  nearly  three  years'  separation,  might  be  as 
oiu:  parting  had  been,  in  a  British  dungeon.  But  for  this  chance 
I  would  have  considered  my  imprisonment  a  wholesome  and 
tonic  mental  medicine.  There  is  a  danger  of  us  growing  too 
soft,  good-humoured,  and  balmy,  in  our  present  bush  life,  breath- 
ing an  air  so  luxurious,  and  seeing  the  face  of  no  present  gaoler ; 
therefore  to  hear  the  wards  occasionally  grating  in  a  British  lock 
I  regard  as  a  salutary  stimulant,  and  think  of  taking  a  course  of 
it  once  a  year  while  I  remain  in  captivity. 

After  spending  twenty-four  hours  in  jail,  however,  during 
which  time  the  good-natured  gaoler,  knowing  how  the  case 
stood,  gave  me  very  considerate  usage,  I  was  released.  The 
official  person  in  Hobart  Town  had  only  missed  a  post,  or,  I 
believe,  two  posts, — for  the  birthday  gala  was  overwhelming — 
and  then  had  sent  forward  the  needful  documents. 

When  I  returned  to  my  hotel,  I  found  that  my  friend  Mr. 
Pooler  had,  without  my  knowledge,  obtained  leave  for  me  to 
visit  him  at  Longford ;  and  accordingly  here  I  am  for  the  last  week. 

When  the  circumstances  of  my  arrest  came  to  be  known,  some 
of  the  newspapers  commented  severely  on  the  harshness  of  the 
treatment  used  towards  me  ;  and  particularly  the  Colonial  Times, 
a  well-conducted  Hobart  Town  paper,  which  warmly  urged  that 
meetings  should  be  held,  and  petitions  adopted  by  all  the  colonists, 
both  of  Van  Diemen's  Land  and  Australia,  praying  for  the 
"  pardon  "  of  all  those  gentlemen  known  as  the  "  Irish  State 
Prisoners."  When  I  saw  the  article  this  morning,  I  immediately 
wrote  a  short  letter  to  the  Times,  commencing  thus — I  suppose 
it  will  be  accounted  another  act  of  "  contempt  " — 
(To  THE  Editor  of  the  "  Colonial  Times.") 

Launceston,  gth  June,  1851. 

Sir, — I  have  just  seen  a  paragraph  in  your  journal,  commenting  on  the 
short  interruption  of  my  "  comparative  liberty  "  which  has  occurred  at 
this  place.  For  the  kind  feeling  which  prompted  your  remarks,  accept  my 
thanks  ;  but  as  to  your  suggestion  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Australian 
colonies  should  petition  the  Queen  of  England  to  pardon  the  Irish  State 
prisoners,  I  must  take  the  "  comparative  liberty  "  of  requesting,  in  case 


i>W9.?9''*'^*-'"*^!». 


JAIL  JOURNAL  259 

of  such  a  petition  being  made,  that  my  name  may  be  excepted  from  the 
prayer  of  it.  I  have  no  idea  of  begging  pardon,  or  of  permitting  any  one 
to  beg  pardon  for  me,  if  I  can  help  it.  In  arresting  me,  I  presume  the 
worthy  police-magistrate  did  no  more  than  his  duty — ^perhaps  even  less 
than  his  duty.  I  do  not,  indeed,  know  what  may  be  the  duties  of  British 
official  persons ;  and,  not  having  the  honour  to  be  a  British  subject,  do 
not  study  to  inform  myself ;  but  I  am  inclined  to  conjecture  that  it  was 
his  duty,  on  this  occasion,  to  put  me  in  chains.  My  misconduct,  it  seems, 
was  very  glaring — making  such  haste  to  come  to  Launceston,  that  I  arrived 
here  before  the  official  notification  of  my  journey  had  reached  Mr.  Gunn's 
hands.  If  he  erred  in  this  matter,  through  excessive  lenity  and  urbanity, 
I  trust  it  will  not  be  remembered  to  his  hurt.  etc. 

lUh. — After  nine  days  more,  spent  uneasily  in  waiting  at 
Longford,  I  had  a  letter  from  St.  Kevin  to-day  informing  me 
that  the  brig  Union  had  arrived  in  Hobart  Town,  carrying  my 
expected  consignment,  all  well.  Have  written  to  ensure  their 
meeting  me  at  Greenponds,  being  the  point  of  the  pubhc  coach 
road  nearest  to  Bothwell,  I  set  off  for  Greenponds  by  to- 
morrow night's  coach. 

20th. — Greenponds. — ^To-day  I  met  my  wife  and  family  once 
more.  These  things  cannot  be  described.  To-morrow  morning 
we  set  off  through  the  woods  for  Bothwell. 

2 is/. — ^We  made  a  successful  journey  this  day,  though  the 
weather  is  snowy  and  rainy.  I  hired  a  spring-cart  for  the  rest  of 
the  household,  and  myself  rode  Fleur-de-lis,  who  has  been  waiting 
for  this  journey  for  the  last  three  weeks  at  Greenponds.  As  the 
cottage  where  John  Knox  and  I  have  been  living  for  ten  months 
back,  is  too  small  for  us,  is  almost  unfurnished,  and  lies  six  miles 
from  the  township,  we  have  betaken  ourselves  for  the  present  to 
the  comfortable  hotel  of  Mrs.  Beech — incomparable  cook  of 
kangaroo — in  the  village  itself.  Knox  was  waiting  for  us  ;  and 
we  spent  such  an  evening  as  seldom  falls  to  the  lot  of  captives. 

Bothwell,  after  six  weeks'  absence,  has  a  wonderfully  homelike 
aspect  to  me,  returning  to  it  now  with  all  these  materials  and 
appUances  of  home.  Methinks  I  shall  have  something  Uke  a 
fireside  again.  Not  on  any  consideration  would  I  go  now  to 
take  up  my  abode  in  any  other  district  of  the  island :  here  we 
have  pure  air,  glorious  forests,  lovely  rivers,  a  thinly-peopled 
pastoral  country,  and  kind  friends.  To-morrow  I  commence  my 
research  for  house  and  farm  wherein  to  set  up  my  ticket-of-leave 
penates. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

August  26th,  1851 — Nant  Cottage,  Bothwell. — Here  we  are  estab- 
lished, at  last,  on  a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  nearly  three 
miles  from  the  village,  situated  on  the  Clyde,  which  runs  along 
the  eastern  end  of  the  land.  From  the  windows  we  command  a 
noble  yiew  of  the  valley  stretching  about  three  miles  northward 
to  the  base  of  Quoin  Hill.  The  land  is  capital  pasture :  and  I  am 
stocking  it  with  sheep  and  cattle.  Four  hours  every  day  are 
devoted  to  the  boys'  lessons  ;  then  riding,  or  roaming  the  woods 
with  the  dogs. 

We  set  out,  my  wife  and  myself,  to  visit  Smith  O'Brien, 
who  has  been  sta5dng  some  months  at  Avoca,  a  district  in 
the  mountains  in  the  north-east.  He  accepted  the  "  comparative 
liberty  "  almost  a  year  ago  (of  course  giving  his  parole  at  the 
same  time),  and  resided  first  at  New  Norfolk  ;  but  wanting  some 
occupation,  he  removed  to  the  house  of  Dr.  Brock,  a  settler  at 
Avoca,  and  has  undertaken  the  instruction  of  his  sons.  We 
have  not  seen  him  for  three  years  and  a  half  ;  and  from  Meagher's 
description,  I  fear  we  shall  find  him  much  altered. 

In  this  place  I  may  narrate  one  of  Sir  William  Denison's  acts 
of  vigour.  When  Mr.  O'Brien  was  about  to  leave  New  Norfolk 
for  Avoca,  he  wrote  to  Martin  and  me  about  a  fortnight  before,  to 
say  that  as  Bothwell  and  Lake  Sorel  lay  both  straight  in  his  way, 
and  as  this  was,  in  fact,  the  shortest  road  to  his  destination, 
although  there  are  here  no  regular  roads  or  public  conveyances,  he 
would  send  his  trunk  round  by  the  mail-coach,  and  would  him- 
self make  his  way  to  us  at  Bothwell,  spend  one  or  two  days  here, 
then  ride  up  to  the  lakes  with  us  to  visit  Meagher,  who  would 
bring  him  on  from  thence  to  Campbelltown,  which  is  in  Meagher's 
district,  and  from  whence  he  could  easily  get  across  the  country 
to  Avoca.  None  of  us  saw  any  objection,  or  foresaw  any  inter- 
ference. On  a  former  occasion,  MacManus,  having  the  same 
journey  to  make,  had  taken  the  same  road  without  calling  forth 
any  remark.    And,  in  fact,  the  real  criminals,  in  passing  from 

260 


m^." 


JAIL  JOURNAL  261 

one  part  of  the  island  to  another,  habitually  select  their  own 
route  and  take  their  own  time. 

Of  course,  we  were  both  delighted  with  the  prospect  of  seeing 
him,  even  for  a  day  or  two,  and  mentioned  that  we  expected  this 
visit  to  our  acquaintances  at  Bothwell,  who  seemed  to  look  for- 
ward to  it  with  almost  as  much  pleasure  as  ourselves.  We  were 
to  meet  O'Brien  at  Hamilton  (twenty  miles  south  of  Bothwell), 
and  to  lead  a  spare  horse  for  him  to  ride  up.  But  it  came  to  the 
ears  of  our  head  gaoler :  and,  three  days  before  our  appointed 
meeting,  the  police  magistrate  at  New  Norfolk  received  an  official 
order  to  be  communicated  "  to  the  prisoner  named  in  the  margin  " 
(O'Brien),  giving  him  peremptory  conunand — that  on  leaving 
New  Norfolk  to  proceed  to  Avoca,  he  should  quit  his  then  present 
residence  on  the  same  day  on  which  he  should  give  notice  of  his 
removed  at  the  police-office  ;  that  then  he  should  repair  to  Bridge- 
water,  the  nearest  point  at  which  the  coach-road  from  Hobart 
Town  passed  by  his  district ;  thence  proceed  upon  his  journey 
by  that  coach-road,  diverging  neither  to  the  right  hand  nor  to 
the  left — and  that  he  was  "  not  to  loiter  by  the  way."  The  effect 
was,  to  compel  him  to  take  a  circuitous  route  instead  of  a  straight 
one  ;  and  all  to  prevent  our  meeting  with  our  friend.  This  was 
the  meanest  piece  of  malignity  of  which  the  old  gaoler  had  yet 
been  guilty,  and  it  proves  that  he  has  the  soul  of  a  turnkey. 

Since  my  family  came  out,  however,  I  have  been  distinguished 
by  special  favour,  and  almost  put  on  the  footing  of  the  real  con- 
victs holding  tickets-of-leave — by  being  permitted  to  go  about 
from  one  district  to  another  on  taking  out  a  "  pass "  for  that 
purpose  (describing  my  height,  the  colour  of  my  eyes,  &c.), 
which  I  am  to  exhibit  at  the  poUce  office  of  any  district  I 
may  visit.  It  may  be  supposed  that  I  do  not  avail  myself 
often  of  this  handsome  privilege.  But  on  the  present  occasion, 
for  the  sake  of  making  this  excursion  to  Avoca,  I  have 
regularly  taken  out  the  passport. 

Yesterday,  I  saw  in  one  of  the  Van  Diemen's  Land  papers,  an 
extract  from  some  London  periodical,  in  which,  as  usual,  great 
credit  is  given  to  the  "  Government "  for  their  indulgence  and 
clemency  to  the  Irish  prisoners.  Now,  the  truth  is,  the  exceptions 
which  are  made  in  our  case  to  the  ordinary  treatment  of  real  con- 
victs, are  all  exceptions  against  us.   There  are  three  or  four  thou- 


262  JAIL  JOURNAL 

sand  ticket-of-leave-holders  on  the  island,  who  may  all  live  how 
and  where  they  please  ;  and  are  only  required  to  report  themselves 
twice  a  year,  not  personally.  We,  on  the  contrary,  are  restricted 
in  all  our  movements,  and  required  to  report  ourselves  personally 
once  a  month  in  our  respective  police-offices.  And,  in  addition  to 
all  this  irritating  surveillance,  they  exact  our  parole  ;  under  the 
false  pretence,  I  presume,  that  in  return  for  this  guarantee,  they 
forbear  to  set  us  to  work,  and  to  hire  us  out  to  settlers,  like 
assigned  servants.  This,  I  say,  is  false.  We  would  all  be  glad 
to  be  placed  to-morrow  on  the  footing  of  the  genuine  convicts, 
because  we  would  then  escape  instantly  ;  and  the  governor  knows 
that  every  colonist  on  the  island  would  aid  us  to  do  so.  The 
alternative  is  not,  parole  or  work — ^but  parole  or  death  in  a 
dungeon — parole,  or  such  custody  as  I  endured  at  Bermuda,  and 
O'Brien  at  Port  Arthur.* 

This  morning  we  set  off,  my  wife  and  I,  on  horseback  :  we  had 
twenty-four  miles  to  ride  through  the  woods  to  Oatlands,  where 
we  were  to  take  the  coach.  The  horses.  Tricolor  and  Fleur-de-lis, 
were  in  high  order,  and  devoured  the  bush.  The  spring  day  has 
been  most  lovely,  and  the  mimosa  is  just  bursting  into  bloom, 
loading  the  warm  air  with  a  rich  fragrsince,  which  a  European 
joyfully  recognises  at  once  as  a  well-remembered  perfume.  It  is 
precisely  the  fragrance  of  the  Queen  of  the  Meadows,  "  spilling 
her  spikenard."  At  about  ten  miles'  distance,  we  descend  into 
a  deep  valley,  and  water  our  horses  in  the  Jordan.  Here,  as  it  is 
the  only  practicable  pass,  in  this  direction,  between  Bothwell  and 
Oatlands,  stands  a  police  station.  Two  constables  lounge  before 
the  door  as  we  pass,  and,  as  usual,  the  sight  of  them  makes  us 
feel  once  more  that  the  whole  wide  and  glorious  forest  is,  after 
all,  but  an  umbrageous  and  highly-perfumed  dungeon. 

*  It  is  with  reluctance  I  publish  these  passages  of  my  Journal,  describing 
the  exceptional  rigours  of  our  captivity.  But  I  find  that,  even  yet, 
English  newspapers  speak  of  us  as  having  been  the  objects  of  "  clemency  " 
and  indulgence  ;  and  there  is  no  harm  in  letting  the  facts  be  known.  If 
the  British  Government  had  shown  us  "  indulgence  and  clemency,"  I 
should  despise  it,  inasmuch  as  the  thing  we  sought  was  not  a  mild  ex- 
ecution of  our  sentence,  but  a  real  trial  before  our  countrymen — was,  in 
short,  not  "  clemency,"  but  justice.  This,  I  think,  was  not  unreasonable 
to  demand  at  the  hands  of  a  Government  which  professed  to  be  administer- 
ing and  vindicating  law.  But,  inasmuch  as  there  was  no  trial  at  all,  and 
the  execution  of  the  false  sentence  was  more  atrociously  rigorous  than  any 
of  their  real  criminals  undergo,  what  is  to  be  thought  of  this  British  cant 
about  indulgence  ? 


JAIL  JOURNAL  263 

Climbing  the  hill  on  the  other  side  of  the  Jordan  valley,  we  are 
once  more  in  the  wild  bush  ;  and  in  due  time  arrive  at  Oatlands 
Hotel.  At  one  o'clock  up  comes  the  Hobart  Town  and  Launceston 
day  coach,  which,  in  all  its  appointments,  is  precisely  like  what  an 
English  stage-coach  was  before  the  railroads  had  swallowed  them 
all  up.  The  road  is  excellent,  the  horses  good.  The  coachman 
and  guard  (prisoners,  no  doubt)  are,  in  manners,  dress,  and  be- 
haviour, as  Uke  untransported  EngUsh  guards  and  coachmen  as  it 
is  possible  to  conceive.  The  wayside  inns  we  passed  are  thoroughly 
British  ;  even,  I  regret  to  say,  to  the  very  brandy  they  sell  therein. 
The  passengers  all  speak  with  an  English  accent ;  the  guard,  on 
entering  a  village,  performs  upon  his  bugle  the  last  popular  negro 
melody.  It  is  hateful  to  me,  when  some  urgent  occasion  requires 
me  to  come  down  from  our  remote  pastoral  district  of  Bothwell, 
to  mingle  in  the  unclean  stream  of  travellers  by  this  public  road. 
Bothwell,  being  bounded  on  the  west  and  north  by  unsubdued 
forests  and  desolate  mountains,  is  on  the  way  nowhither  ;  and  in 
its  rural  quietude  one  can  sometimes  forget,  for  a  little  while,  the 
horrors  of  this  dreadful  life.  Every  sight  and  sound  that  strikes 
eye  or  ear  on  this  mail  road,  reminds  me  that  I  am  in  a  small 
misshapen,  transported,  bastard  England ;  and  the  legitimate 
England  itself  is  not  so  dear  to  me  that  I  can  love  the 
convict  copy. 

We  rested  for  the  night  at  the  principal  hotel  in  Campbell- 
town,  a  very  elegant  house,  and  splendidly  furnished,  which 
would  be  a  credit  to  Bray  or  Kingstown.  From  hence'  we  are 
to  take  a  public  conveyance  the  day  after  tomorrow  to  Avoca, 
where  Mr.  O'Brien  is  to  meet  us. 

An  election  is  approaching  ;  the  first  election  of  representatives 
under  the  new  Constitution,  granting  to  the  colony  a  legislature— 
one-third  nominees  of  the  crown,  and  two-thirds  elected  by  the 
people.  Of  course  there  is  great  excitement ;  everybody  being 
delighted  to  have  another  opportunity  for  mimicry  of  the  "  old 
country."  Walls  covered  with  placarded  addresses  to  the  inde- 
•pendent  electors  ;  rosettes  of  blue  ribbon,  or  else  of  red,  fixed  to 
the  ears  of  coach-horses,  and  in  the  bar  windows  of  inns  ;  flags 
fl5dng  at  the  tops  of  high  poles,  expressive  of  the  political  pre- 
dilections of  those  who  sell  bad  spirits  or  brew  nauseous  beer 
under  the  said  flags ;    in  short,  all  the  mechanical  helps  and 


264  JAIL  JOURNAL 

appliances  for  creating  mobs — a  thing  somewhat  difficult  in  so 
sparse  a  population — and  for  promoting  large  consumption  of 
drink — a  thing  not  so  difficult.  There  is  but  one  poUtical  ques- 
tion now  existing — the  transportation  system.  Most  of  the 
decent  colonists,  having  families  growing  up,  and  feeling  the  evil 
effects  of  the  moral  and  social  atmosphere  that  surrounds  them, 
and  the  ignominy  of  having  no  coimtry  but  a  penal  colony,  no 
servants,  no  labourers,  few  neighbours  even,  who  are  not  men 
fairly  due  to  the  gallows — ardently  desire  to  use  this  new  Con- 
stitution, such  as  it  is,  to  make  vigorous  protest  against  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  penal  system.  The  late  discovery  of  gold  mines 
in  Australia,  which  tempts  multitudes  of  our  Tasmanisin  ruffians 
over  the  strait,  interests  the  colony  of  Port  Philip  very  vehemently 
in  the  same  cause  ;  and  an  "  Australasian  League  "  has  been 
formed,  embracing  the  best  colonists  of  New  South  Wales,  Port 
Philip,  South  Australia,  Van  Diemen's  Land,  and  New  Zealand  ; 
with  their  banner  of  five  stars  on  a  blue  ground ;  with  large 
funds,  able  writers  at  the  press,  and  almost  all  the  talent  of  the 
Southern  hemisphere  enlisted  on  their  side.  This  starred  banner 
now  flies  from  many  a  mast-head  in  the  inter-colonial  traffic,  and 
floats  over  all  anti-transportation  platforms  in  Van  Diemen's 
Land.  On  the  other  side,  the  governor  at  Hobart  Town,  and  his 
large  gang  of  highly-paid  officials,  having  a  deep  interest  in  the 
continuance  of  probation  stations,  chain-gangs,  £ind  the  like,  are 
using  all  the  resources  of  patronage,  corruption,  and  intimidation 
in  their  power  to  get  up  some  presentable  body  of  public  opinion 
in  their  favour,  but  without  briUiant  success.  The  governor, 
however,  has  his  "  organ,"  too,  the  Hobart  Town  Advertiser,  the 
proprietor  of  it  being,  I  am  ashamed  to  say,  an  Irishman,  and  its 
principal  writer  (the  head  scribbler,  indeed,  of  the  party)  being 
no  other  than  Balfe,  one  of  the  Government  informers  of  '48, 
once  an  ultra-revolutionary  member  of  the  Irish  Confederation, 
but  now,  in  reward  for  some  unnameable  service,  Deputy  Assistant 
Comptroller  of  Convicts,  and  Justice  of  the  Peace,  with  a  hand- 
some salary  and  large  grant  of  land. 

The  policy  on  which  the  governor  and  his  party  rely  is  almost 
too  base  and  diabolical  for  behef.  It  is  to  represent  the  anti- 
transportation  movement  as  a  thing  hostile  to  the  prisoner-popu- 
lation and  their  descendants,  instead  of  being,  as  it  is,  the  first 


JAIL  JOURNAL  265 

step  towards  gradual  obliteration  of  the  social  distinctions  (which 
must  for  ever  subsist  while  the  country  is  an  actual  jail),  and  the 
amalgamation,  within  a  generation  or  two,  of  all  the  people  ;  so 
would  the  stream  of  this  colonial  Ufe  begin  to  run  clear ;  the 
pure  air  of  a  new  country,  and  the  blessed  influence  of  our  kindly 
mother  earth — for  I  have  strong  belief  in  the  potency  of  these 
material  agencies  upon  humein  life — would  absorb  the  foul  ele- 
ments, and  infuse  new  and  fresh  ones,  till  men  might  safely  forget 
the  abominable  foimtain  from  whence  the  current  flowed  at  first. 
Sir  William  Denison,  conscientiously  working  for  his  "  Gover- 
ment,"  and  for  his  gaoler-salary  (poor  devil !)  is  trjdng,  through 
every  agency  at  his  command,  to  get  up  a  convict  esprit  du  corps  : 
for  this  purpose,  veritable  Government  mobs  of  convicts,  organ- 
ised by  convict  officials,  have  actually  begun  to  threaten  the  peace 
di  Hobart  Town.  The  Advertiser,  and  another  newspaper  (con- 
ducted by  another  Irishman)  are  their  organs.  Balfe  is  their 
literary  Coryphoeus  :  a  miscreant  called  Gray,  son  to  the  Mona- 
ghan  murderer  of  that  name,  and  himself  transported  for  forgery 
and  subornation  of  perjury,  is  their  mob-leader.  They  are  taught 
to  call  themselves  "  the  people,"  to  speak  of  themselves  as  a 
"  class  of  society,"  and  when  duly  excited  by  drink  and  non- 
sense exaggerating  the  natural  brutality  of  their  manners,  and 
emboldened  by  the  idea  that  they  are  "  Government-men,"  and 
under  the  special  protection  of  his  Excellency,  these  fellows  are 
not  a  little  dangerous  to  honest  people. 

Surely,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  decent,  free  colonists  should 
desire  to  be  rid  of  the  system  which  breeds  this  misrule.  Some  of 
them,  indeed,  for  a  quiet  life,  are  leaving  the  country  either  for 
Port  Philip  or  England ;  but  most  of  the  residents  seem  deter- 
mined to  put  the  thing  down,  and  to  nm  all  risks  and  make  all 
sacrifices  to  do  it.  The  main  agency  on  which  the  colonists  rely 
is,  of  course,  the  approaching  election,  at  which  they  hope  to 
return  a  pledged  anti-transportationist  for  every  constituency. 

I  am  reminded  of  all  these  things  to-day  by  the  sight  of  a  sort 
of  procession  passing  our  hotel  windows,  to  escort  the  Government 
candidate,  or  transportation  candidate,  for  the  district,  a  Mr. 
Allison,  to  the  village  of  Ross,  where  a  meeting  of  his  supporters 
comes  off  this  day.  One  carriage,  a  drag  with  four  horses,  several 
spring-carts,  and  gigs,  make  up  the  cortege  ;  and  there  is  much 


266  JAIL  JOURNAL 

display  of  red  ribbon  and  British  convict  enthusiasm.  To- 
morrow the  opposite,  or  coimtry  party,  are  to  meet  at  Avoca, 
so  that  we  shall  have  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  their  pro- 
ceedings. Their  candidate  is  Mr.  Kermode,  son  of  one  of  the 
richest  settlers  of  the  place,  a  man  of  great  zeal  and  earnestness 
in  the  cause,  therefore,  very  obnoxious  to  the  government ;  and 
the  election  for  Campbelltown  district  is  accounted  the  most 
critical  in  the  colony. 

October  i^th — Avoca. — ^We  came  to-day,  in  a  spring-cart 
twenty-one  miles,  through  the  wild  valley  of  the  South  Esk, 
bounded  on  the  north  side  by  a  range  of  mountains  overtopped 
by  the  tremendous  precipices  of  Ben  Lomond,  a  mountain  five 
thousand  feet  high,  and  therefore  much  grander  than  its  Scottish 
godfather.  At  Avoca  itself,  the  South  Esk  is  joined  by  the  St. 
Paul's  River,  and  near  the  angle  of  their  junction  rises  "  St^ 
Paul's  Dome,"  a  noble  round-topped  mountain,  belted  with 
magnificent  timber.  These  valleys  and  moimtains  remind  me 
more  of  scenery  in  Donegal  or  Down  than  any  other  part  of  Van 
Diemen's  Land  has  done.  Our  fellow-passengers  were  going  to 
the  Avoca  meeting ;  and  a  gentleman  rode  alongside  with  a 
large  bundle  strapped  before  him  on  the  saddle,  which  on  close 
survey  I  discovered  to  be  the  five-starred  flag  of  the  League, 
destined  to  wave  that  day  over  the  independent  electors  of 
Avoca. 

We  alighted  at  a  decent  hotel,  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  gentle- 
man passed  the  window,  whom,  after  nearly  four  years,  we  had 
some  difficulty  in  at  first  recognising  for  William  Smith  O'Brien. 
We  met  him  at  the  door  as  he  entered ;  and  our  greeting  was 
silent,  but  warm  and  cordial,  although  the  last  of  our  intercourse 
in  Ireland  had  been  somewhat  distant.  He  seems  evidently  sink- 
ing in  health  ;  his  form  is  hardly  so  erect,  nor  his  step  so  stately  ; 
his  hair  is  more  grizzled,  and  his  face  bears  traces  of  pain  and 
passion.  It  is  sad  to  look  upon  this  noblest  of  Irishmen,  thrust 
in  here  among  the  off-scourings  of  England's  gaols,  with  his 
home  desolated,  and  his  hopes  ruined,  and  his  defeated  life  falling 
into  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf.  He  is  fifty  years  of  age,  yet  has  all 
the  high  and  intense  pleasure  of  youth  in  these  majestic  hills  and 
woods,  softened,  indeed,  and  made  pensive  by  sorrow,  and 
haimted  by  the  ghosts  of  buried  hopes.    He  is  a  rare  and  noble 


JAIL  JOURNAL  267 

sight  to  see  :  a  man  who  cannot  be  crushed,  bowed,  or  broken  ; 
who  can  stand  firm  on  his  own  feet  against  all  the  tumult  and 
tempest  of  this  ruffianly  world,  with  his  bold  brow  fironting  the 
sun  Hke  any  other  Titan,  son  of  Coelus  and  Terra ;  anchored 
immovably  upon  his  own  brave  heart  within  ;  his  clear  eye  and 
soul  open  as  ever  to  all  the  melodies  and  splendours  of  earth 
and  heaven,  and  calmly  waiting  for  the  Angel  Death. 

"  For  near  him  lies  his  grave,  hidden  from  view 
Not  by  the  flowers  of  Youth,  but  by  the  snows 
Of  Age  " 

We  were  at  breakfast  when  he  came  in  ;  and  that  over,  he  pro- 
posed a  walk,  that  he  might  lead  us  up  the  glen  of  the  South  Esk. 
We  wandered  several  hours,  talking  of  '48.  He  gave  me  a  more 
minute  account  than  I  had  before  heard  of  his  own  movements  in 
Tipperary ;  and  attributed  his  failure,  in  great  part,  to  the  be- 
haviour (what  shall  I  call  it  ? — the  cowardice,  the  treachery,  or 
the  mere  priestliness)  of  the  priests.  Priests  hovered  round  him 
everywhere  ;  and,  on  two  or  three  occasions,  when  the  people 
seemed  to  be  gathering  in  force,  they  came  whispering  roimd,  and 
melted  off  the  crowd  like  a  silent  thaw.  He  described  to  me  old 
grey-haired  men  coming  up  to  him  with  tears  streaming  down 
their  faces,  telling  him  they  would  follow  him  so  gladly  to  the 
world'.s  end — that  they  had  long  been  prajdng  for  that  day — and 
God  knows  it  was  not  life  they  valued  :  but  there  was  his  reverence, 
and  he  said  that  if  they  shed  blood  they  would  lose  their  im- 
mortal soulg  ;  and  what  could  they  do  ?  God  help  them,  where 
could  they  turn  ?  and  on  their  knees  they  entreated  him  to  forgive 
them  for  deserting  him.  So  they  slunk  home  to  take  care  of 
their  paltry  old  souls,  and  wait  for  the  sheriff's  bailiff  to  hunt 
them  into  the  poor-house.  On  the  whole,  O'Brien  accepts  defeat 
— takes  desertion  or  backwardness  of  the  people,  and  the  verdict 
of  the  Clonmel  jury,  such  as  it  was,  for  a  final  pronouncement 
against  armed  resistance  ;  and  therefore  regards  the  cause  as 
lost  utterly,  and  the  history  of  Ireland,  as  a  nation,  closed  and 
sealed  for  ever.     So  do  not  I. 

He  is  well  aware  that  he  would  be  released  upon  making  ever 

so  trifling  a  submission  ;   and  distinct  intimations  to  that  effect 

have  reached  him  indirectly,  through  members  of  his  own  family. 

'He  is  too  proud  for  this;    and  cannot  endure  the  thought  of 


^68  jAlL  jOUkNAt 

begging  pardon  ;  yet,  with  his  views  of  the  meaning  and  moral  of 
his  failure,  why  not  ?  If  I  could  bring  myself  to  believe,  for  one 
minute,  that  the  country  had  really  pronounced  against  us  and 
condemned  our  intended  rebellion,  and  moreover  that  I  had  been 
tried  by  my  countrymen  and  afterwards  found  guilty  of  that 
attempt^ — that  is  to  say,  if  I  believed  Queen  Victoria  to  be 
really  the  sovereign  of  Ireland  and  not  a  foreign  tjnrant,  I 
would  certainly  beg  her  pardon.  At  least,  I  at  present  think  I 
should. 

Then  he  related  to  me  the  whole  story  of  his  attempted  escape 
from  Maria  Island.  It  seems  he  was  allowed  to  walk  over  the 
island  attended  by  an  armed  constable  ;  and  sometimes  went  to  a 
distance  of  five  or  six  miles  from  the  station.  When  his  friends 
in  Hobart  Town  had  bargained  for  the  vessel,  a  small  schooner, 
they  contrived  very  secretly  to  communicate  to  him  what  they 
had  done,  and  to  let  him  know  that  a  vessel  would  appear  off  a 
certain  point  of  the  island  about  a  certain  time,  and  would  send 
a  boat  ashore,  leaving  it  to  him  to  elude  or  overpower  his  keeper, 
so  as  to  be  at  liberty  to  jump  into  the  boat,  £uid  push  off.  Delays 
occurred  at  Hobart  Town  ;  and  the  poor  prisoner  walked  daily  for 
several  weeks  to  the  same  point,  straining  his  eager  eyes  to  the 
southern  horizon.  He  did  not  know  that,  in  the  meantime,  Ellis, 
the  skipper  of  that  schooner,  had  gone  to  the  Government  House, 
and  there  had  sold  him  for  certain  moneys — that  the  gaolers  on 
Maria  Island  itself  were  in  full  possession  of  the  whole  plot ;  and 
that  every  step  of  his  daily  walk  was  duly  watched  and  taken 
note  of. 

At  last,  as  he  wandered  on  the  shore,  and  had  almost  given 
up  all  hope  of  the  schooner,  the  schooner  hove  in  sight.  To 
give  time  for  her  approach  he  walked  into  the  woods  for  a 
space,  that  he  might  not  alarm  his  guardian  constable  by  his 
attention  to  .er  movements.  Again  he  sauntered  down  towards 
the  point,  with  apparent  carelessness,  but  a  beating  heart. 
San  Francisco  was  to  be  his  first  destination  ;  and  beyond  that 
golden  gate  lay  the  great  world,  and  home  and  children,  and 
an  honourable  life.  The  boat  was  coming,  manned  by  three 
men  ;  and  he  stepped  proudly  and  resolutely  to  meet  them  on 
the  shore.  To  be  sure  there  was,  somewhere  behind  him,  one 
miserable  constable,  with  his  miserable  musket ;   but  he  had 


JAIL  JOURNAL  269 

no  doubt  of  being  able  to  dispose  of  that  difficulty,  with  the 
assistance  of  his  allies  the  boatmen. 

The  boat  could  not  get  quite  close  to  the  beach,  because  they 
had  run  her  into  a  kind  of  cove  vdiere  the  water  was  calm  and  en- 
cumbered with  large  tangled  weeds.  O'Brien,  when  he  reached 
the  beach,  plunged  into  the  water  to  prevent  delay,  and  struggled 
through  the  thick  matted  sea-weed  to  the  boat.  The  water  was 
deeper  than  he  expected,  and  when  he  came  to  the  boat  he  needed 
the  aid  of  the  boatmen  to  climb  over  the  gunwale.  Instead  of 
giving  him  this  aid  the  rascals  allowed  him  to  flounder  there,  and 
kept  looking  to  the  shore,  where  the  constable  had  by  this  time 
appeared  with  his  musket.  The  moment  he  showed  himself,  the 
three  boatmen  cried  out  together,  "  We  surrender  !  "  and  invited 
him  on  board  ;  where  he  instantly  took  up  a  hatchet,  no  doubt 
provided  hy  the  ship  for  that  purpose,  and  stove  the  boat. 

O'Brien  saw  he  was  betrayed,  and,  on  being  ordered  to  move 
along  with  the  constable  and  boatmen  towards  the  station,  he 
refused  to  stir,  hoping,  in  fact,  by  his  resistance,  to  provoke  the 
constable  to  shoot  him.  However,  the  three  boatmen  seized  on 
him,  and  lifted  him  up  from  the  ground,  and  carried  him  where- 
ever  the  constable  ordered.  His  custody  was  thereafter  made 
more  rigorous  ;  and  he  was  shortly  removed  from  Maria  Island 
to  Port  Arthur  Station.* 

So  conversing  we  returned  towards  our  hotel.  A  large  black 
snake,  the  first  I  have  seen  this  summer,  lay  upon  our  path  ;  and 
my  wife  would  probably  have  walked  over  it,  but  that  O'Brien, 
who  saw  it  first,  pushed  her  back,  and  jumped  forward  to  kill  the 
snake  with  a  staff.  It  glided  away,  however,  as  they  will  always 
do  if  they  can,  amongst  some  dense  tufts  of  iris,  and  we  could 
not  find  it. 

Oct.  16th. — ^This  morning  we  were  to  part.  Mr.  O'Brien  had 
fourteen  miles  to  walk  up  the  St.  Paul's  Valley ;   and  asked  us 

*  Ellis,  the  captain  of  the  schooner,  was  some  months  after,  seized  at 
San  Francisco  by  Mr.  MacManus  and  others,  brought  by  night  out  of  his 
ship  and  carried  into  the  country  to  undergo  his  trial  under  a  tree,  where- 
upon, if  found  guilty,  he  was  destined  to  swing.  MacManus  set  out  his 
indictment,  and  it  proves  how  much  Judge  Lynch's  method  of  administering 
justice  in  those  early  days  of  California  excelled  anything  we  know  of  law 
or  justice  in  Ireland — that  Ellis,  for  want  of  sufficient  and  satisfactory 
evidence  then  producible,  was  acquitted  by  that  midnight  court  under 
that  convenient  tree. 


270  JAIL  JOURNAL 

to  go  with  him  about  two  miles  that  he  might  show  us  a  beauti- 
fully-situated cottage  and  farm,  on  the  St.  Paul's  River, 
which  he  advised  me  to  rent ;  for  I  may  now  hve  in  any  district 
I  please,  as  independently  as  any  ticket-of-leave  rick-bumer  in 
the  land. 

We  sauntered  and  lingered  as  long  as  we  could  in  that  beauteous 
valley.  At  last  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  part,  he  on  his  way  to 
Dr.  Brock's  residence,  where  he  must  give  certain  lessons  this 
evening  ;  we,  back  to  Avoca,  to  take  the  public  spring  waggon 
for  Campbelltown.  We  stood  and  watched  him  long,  as  he  walked 
up  the  valley  on  his  lonely  way ;  and  I  think  I  have  seen  few 
sadder  and  few  prouder  sights.  Oh  !  Nice,  Queen  of  Carthage  ! 
pour  thou  upon  that  haughty  head  all  the  vials  of  thy  pitiful 
revenge  ;  heap  on  that  high  heart  all  the  ignominy  that  can  be 
imagined,  invented,  or  created  by  thee — and  that  head  bows  not, 
that  heart  breaks  not,  blenches  not.  Of  honour  and  dishonour, 
thou,  O  Queen  !  art  not  the  arbiter  or  judge ;  and  the  Parha- 
ment,  platform,  pulpit,  press,  and  public  of  thy  mighty  people, 
know  nothing  about  the  same. 

We  turned  slowly  away — I,  with  a  profound  curse,  my  wife 
with  a  tear  or  two,  and  came  back  to  Avoca.  To-morrow  we 
start  for  Bothwell ;  and  are  to  take  Lake  Sore!  on  our  way, 
visiting  Meagher's  fairy  cottage^ 


CHAPTER   XIX 

October  i6ih. — Back  to-day  to  the  Campbelltown  Hotel,  where 
we  are  to  spend  the  night. 

lyih.- — ^This  morning  we  took  a  conveyance,  a  sort  of  spring- 
cart,  and  drove  sixteen  miles  through  the  valley  of  the  Macquarie 
River  to  the  Sugar-loaf ;  where  dwells  a  worthy  Irish  family, 
emigrants  of  thirty-two  years  ago  from  the  county  Cork.  Their 
name  is  Connell.  We  had  promised  to  visit  them  on  our  way 
back  from  Avoca  ;  and  Mr.  Connell  had  kindly  sent  for  our  horses 
to  Oatlands,  and  has  them  ready  for  our  ride  to-morrow  up  to  the 
lakes.  Mr.  Connell  and  his  wife  have  had  severe  hardships  in 
their  early  days  of  settlement — a  wild  forest  to  tame  and  convert 
into  green  fields — ^wilder  black  natives,  to  keep  watch  and  ward 
against- — and  wildest  convict  bushrangers  to  fight  sometimes  in 
their  own  house.  Mrs.  Connell  is  a  thorough  Celtic  Irishwoman 
— has  the  Munster  accent  as  fresh  as  if  she  had  left  Cork  last 
year,  and  is,  in  short,  as  genuine  an  Irish  Vanithee,  or  "  Woman 
of  the  House,"  as  you  will  find  in  Ireland  at  this  day — perhaps 
more  so  ;  for  Carthaginian  "  civihsation  "  has  been  closer  and 
more  deadly  in  its  embrace  amongst  the  valleys  of  Mimster, 
than  it  could  be  amongst  the  wilds  of  the  Sugar-loaf  forests. 
Most  of  their  laborious  toil  and  struggle  is  over ;  their  farm 
smiles  with  green  cornfields  and  their  sheep  whiten  the  pastures  ; 
their  banks  are  well  furnished  with  bees,  and  Mrs.  Council's 
mead  is  seductive  ;  the  black  Tasmanians  have  all  disappeared 
before  convict  civilisation ;  and  even  the  bushrangers  are  not 
"  out "  so  often  these  late  years.  Still  it  is  needful  that  every 
lonely  house  should  be  well  supplied  with  arms  :  and  not  many 
years  have  gone  by  since  Mrs.  Connell  performed,  against  these 
marauders,  an  achievement  memorable  in  colonial  story.  An 
armed  party  of  four  or  five  men  had  taken  possession  of  the  house 
in  the  absence  of  her  husband.  Two  of  them  were  stationed 
outside ;  one  in  the  house  kept  his  gun  pointed  at  the  family, 
while  the  fourth  ruffian  robbed  the  premises.    Under  pretext  of 

271 


272  JAIL  JOURNAL 

pointing  out  some  valuables  which  the  robber  wanted,  Mrs. 
Connell  induced  him  to  go  into  a  closet  upstairs — locked  him  up 
there,  slipped  down  hastily,  and  entered  the  room  where  the  man 
on  guard  stood — pinioned  him  round  the  arms  from  behind  with 
a  grip  like  death — then,  with  the  help  of  the  children,  disarmed 
and  tied  him,  and  immediately  securing  the  doors,  began  firing 
out  upon  the  two  rascals  in  the  yard  :  they  returned  two  or 
three  shots,  and  decamped,  leaving  their  comrades  in  the 
hands  of  Mrs.  Connell ;  they  were  hanged  of  course  ;  and  the 
family  of  the  Sugar-loaf  (according  to  the  usage  of  that 
period),  had  an  additional  grant  of  land  allowed  them  for  the 
exploit. 

Oct.  iSth. — Mounted  our  horses  and  rode  straight  towards  a 
gloomy  gorge  of  the  "  Western  Tier,"  as  the  colonists  name  the 
great  ridge  of  mountains  that  run  north  and  south  through  Van 
Diemen's  Land  :  passed  some  handsome  houses  of  settlers  on  the 
plain  ;  and  at  eight  miles  from  the  Sugar-loaf  found  ourselves 
among  the  mountains.  Our  guide,  young  Connell,  now  left  us ; 
and  we  pursued  our  way  up  a  rude  track  which  climbs  amongst 
rocks  and  huge  trees.  The  mimosa  soon  disappeared ;  shortly 
after  the  white  and  blue  gum  ;  and  at  a  thousand  feet  above  the 
plain  we  found  ourselves  amongst  lofty,  straight,  and  gloomy 
"  stringy-bark  "  trees,  a  species  which  does  not  shed  its  bark 
like  the  other  Eucalypti,  and  whose  wood  is  very  hard,  heavy, 
straight-grained  and  durable,  so  that  it  is  much  used  in 
building  and  fencing. 

We  still  ascended,  the  mountain  becoming  wilder  and  steeper  at 
every  mile,  until  we  were  full  two  thousand  feet  above  the  plain  of 
Ross.  Here  an  opening  among  the  trees  gave  usi  a  view  over  the 
low  country  we  had  left,  wide,  arid,  and  parched  in  aspect,  with 
ridge  after  ridge  of  rugged-looking  wooded  hills  stretching  far 
towards  the  Pacific  eastwards.  High  and  grim,  to  the  north- 
east, towered  the  vast  Ben  Lomond  ;  and  we  could  trace  in  the 
blue  distance  that  valley  of  St.  Paul's,  where  we  had  left  O'Brien 
wandering  on  his  lonely  way.  We  were  now  almost  on  the  ridge 
where  our  track  crossed  the  summit  of  the  western  range  ;  we 
had  dismounted,  and  I  was  leading  the  horses  up  the  remaining 
steep  acclivity,  when  we  suddenly  saw  a  man  on  the  track  above 
us ;  he  had  a  gun  in  his  hand,  on  his  head  a  cabbage-tree  hat. 


Thomas  Devin  Reilly 


JAIL  JOURNAL  273 

and  at  his  feet  an  enormous  dog.  When  he  observed  us,  he  sung 
out  "  Coo-ee !  "  the  cry  with  which  people  in  the  bush  make 
themselves  heard  at  a  distance.  "  Coo-ee  !  "  I  shouted  in  reply  ; 
when  down  came  bounding  dog  and  man  together.  The  man 
was  Meagher,  who  had  walked  four  miles  from  his  cottage  to 
meet  us  !  the  dog  was  Brian,  a  noble  shaggy  greyhound,  that 
belonged  to  MacManus,  but  of  which  Meagher  had  now  the 
charge. 

We  continued  our  ascent  merrily,  and  soon  knew — though 
the  forest  was  thick  all  round  us — that  we  had  reached  the 
mountain-top  by  the  fresh  breeze  that  blew  upon  our  brdws 
from  the  other  side. 

And  now,  how  shall  I  describe  the  wondrous  scene  that  breaks 
upon  us  here — a  sight  to  be  seen  only  in  Tasmania,  a  land  where 
not  only  the  native  productions  of  the  country,  but  the  very  fea- 
tures of  nature  herself,  seem  formed  on  a  pattern  the  reverse  of 
every  model,  form,  and  law  on  which  the  structure  of  the  rest 
of  the  globe  is  put  together  :  a  land  where  the  moimtain-tops 
are  vast  lakes,  where  the  trees  strip  off  bark  instead  of  leaves, 
and  where  the  cherry-stones  grow  on  the  outside  of  the 
cherries  ? 

After  climbing  full  two  thousand  feet,  we  stand  at  one  moment 
on  the  brink  of  the  steep  mountain,  and  behold  the  plain  of  Ross 
far  below  ;  the  next  minute,  instead  of  commencing  our  descent 
into  a  valley  on  the  other  side,  we  are  on  the  edge  of  a  great  lake, 
stretching  at  least  seven  miles  to  the  opposite  shore,  held  in  here 
by  the  mere  summits  of  the  mountain  range,  and  brimming  to  the 
very  lips  of  the  cup  or  crater  that  contains  it.  A  cutting  of 
twenty-five  feet  in  depth  would,  at  this  point,  send  its  water 
plunging  over  the  mountain  to  form  a  new  river  in  the  plains 
of  Ross.  At  another  part  of  its  shore,  to  the  north-west,  a  similar 
canal  would  drain  it  into  the  lake  river  which  flows  along  the  foot 
of  the  mountains  on  that  side.  As  it  is,  the  only  outlet  is  through 
Lake  Crescent  and  the  Clyde  ;  and  so  it  comes  to  fertiUse  the 
vale  of  Bothwell,  and  bathe  the  roots  of  our  trees  at  Nant 
Cottage. 

We  pass  the  Dog's  Head  promontory,  and  enter  a  rough  winding 
path  cut  among  the  trees,  which  brings  us  to  a  quiet  bay,  or  deep 
curve  of  the  lake,  at  the  head  of  which,  facing  one  of  the  most 


274  JAIL  JOURNAL 

glorious  scenes  of  fairy-land,  with  the  clear  waters  rippling  at  its 
feet,  and  a  dense  forest  around  and  behind  it,  stands  our  friend's 
quiet  cottage.  A  little  wooden  jetty  runs  out  some  yards  into  the 
lake  ;  and  at  anchor,  near  the  end  of  the  jetty,  lies  the  little 
Speranza,  a  new  boat  built  at  Hobart  Town,  and  hauled  up  here, 
through  Bothwell,  a  distance  of  seventy-five  miles,  by  six 
bullocks. 

On  the  veranda  we  are  welcomed  by  the  lady  of  this  sylvan 
hermitage,  give  our  horses  to  Tom  Egan  to  be  taken  care  of,  and 
spend  a  pleasant  hour,  till  dinner-time,  sauntering  on  the  lake 
sfiore.  After  dinner,  a  sail  is  proposed.  Jack  is  summoned,  an 
old  sailor  kept  here  by  Meagher  to  navigate  the  boat :  the  stem- 
sheets  are  spread  with  of)ossum-skin  rugs  and  shawls ;  the 
American  flag  is  run  up,  and  we  all  sally  forth,  intending  to  visit 
the  island,  and  see  how  the  oats  and  potatoes  are  thriving.  For 
Meagher  means  to  be  a  great  farmer  also  ;  and  has  kept  a  man 
on  the  island  several  months,  ploughing,  planting,  and  sowing. 
The  afternoon,  however,  proves  rough  ;  the  wind  is  too  much 
ahead,  and,  when  a  mile  or  two  from  the  shore,  we  give  up  the 
trip  to  the  island,  and  put  the  boat  about.  She  stoops,  almost 
gunwale  imder,  and  goes  flying  and  staggering  home.  The  after- 
noon had  become  raw  ;  and  we  enjoyed  the  sight  of  the  wood- 
fire  illuminating  the  little  crimson  parlour  and  the  gaily  bound 
books  that  loaded  the  shelves.  Pleasant  evening,  of  course  ; 
except  when  we  spoke  of  Ireland  and  the  miserable  debris  of  her 
puny  agitators,  who  are  fast  making  the  name  of  Irishman  a 
word  of  reproach  all  the  world  over. 

We  talked  much,  however,  of  the  Van  Diemen's  Land  election, 
and  of  the  Australasian  League,  wherein  I  find  Meagher  takes  con- 
siderable interest.  We  both  sympathise  very  heartily  with  the 
effort  of  the  decent  colonists  to  throw  off  the  curse  and  shame  of 
convictism — not  that  the  change,  indeed,  would  at  all  affect  us, 
Irish  exiles,  who  would  be  quite  sure  to  be  kept  safe  at  all  events, 
but  because  all  our  worthy  friends  here  feel  so  great  and  so  just  a 
concern  about  the  question,  for  the  sake  of  the  land  they  have 
adopted  for  their  home,  and  their  children's  inheritance.  Our 
interest  in  the  matter  is  also  much  heightened  (at  least  mine  is) 
by  the  inevitable  satisfaction  which  I  needs  must  feel  at  every 
difficulty,  every  humiliation,  of  the  Carthaginian  government.  For 


^jpi9ipgpp^p!p"»pp»w(p«wj"a f  t  H"^»*' vi-^^*» w'f?im?,i' if ipi^ '^^-rr"^    ?W'W>P'!WCf!^*-"'^"-'»''"''  ™~ V 


/^/I  JOURNAL  275 

this  I  enjoyed  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  rebelUon  ;  for  this  I  delight 
in  the  fact  that  these  colonists  are  growing  accustomed  to  regard 
Downing  Street  as  a  den  of  conspirators  and  treacherous  enemies, 
accustomed  to  look  for  nothing  but  falsehood  and  insolence  from 
that  quarter  ;  for  this  I  mean  to  publish  shortly  an  account  of 
the  anti-convict  resistance  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  from 
materials  collected  on  the  spot.  The  Colonial  Times  will  be 
sure  to  print  it  for  me  in  consecutive  numbers  to  any  length 
I  please.* 

Meagher,  also,  has  not  been  idle  in  this  good  cause  ;  nor  is  his 
influence  small  at  Ross  and  Campbelltown.  I  took  up  at  Avoca 
Hotel  the  "  Address  "  to  the  electors  of  that  district,  printed  in 
large  placards,  and  brought  down  here  by  Mr.  Kermode  to  be 
posted  and  distributed.  A  pile  of  them  was  lying  on  the  table 
while  the  candidate  addressed  his  supporters.  An  expression 
caught  my  eye  that  led  me  to  look  further — the  sharp  pen  of 
the  hermit  of  the  lake  pointed  every  sentence  :  in  every  line 
I  recognised  the  "  fine  touch  of  his  claw." 

igth. — Tom  Egan  brought  our  horses  along  the  shore  as  far  as 
Cooper's  hut,  and  we  had  a  delightful  sail  to  various  points  of  the 
lake.  The  air  up  in  these  regions  seems  even  purer  and  more 
elastic  than  in  other  parts  of  the  island,  the  verdure  brighter,  the 
foliage  richer  ;  and  as  we  float  here  at  our  ease,  we  are  willing  to 
believe  that  no  lake  on  earth  is  more  beauteous  than  Sorel.  Not 
so  berhymed  as  Windermere  is  this  Antarctic  lake  ;  neither  does 
the  cockney  tourist  infest  its  waters,  as  he  infests  Loch  Lomond 
or  Killamey  ;  not  so  famous  in  story  as  Regillus  or  Thrasymene  ; 
in  literature,  as  Como  or  Geneva,  is  our  lake  of  the  Southern 
woods.  It  flows  not  into  its  sister  Lake  Crescent  with  so  grand  a 
rush  as  Erie  flings  herself  upon  Ontario  ;  neither  do  its  echoes 
ring  with  a  weird  minstrelsy,  as  ring,  and  will  ring  for  ever,  the 
mountain  echoes  of  Loch  Katrine  and  Loch  Achray.  What  is 
worse,  there  is  no  fish  :  not  a  trout,  red  or  speckled,  not  a  perch, 
pike,  or  salmon.  But,  en  revanche,  see  the  unbroken  continent  of 
mighty  forest  that  clasps  us  round  here.    On  the  north  frowns 

*  Mitchel  carried  out  this  intention,  and  published  the  portions  of  his 
Journal  dealing  with  the  Cape  in  the  Colonial  Times.  It  stimulated  the 
successful  resistance  of  the  decent  Tasmanian  Colonists  to  the  continued 
use  of  that  country  as  a  British  convict  depot.  This  w^  the  first 
occasion  of  any  publication  of  the  "  Jail  Journal," 


276  JAIL  JOURNAL 

the  peak  called  "  Cradle  Mountain,"  with  its  grey  precipices 
rising  out  of  the  rich  foliage — one  peak  merely  of  the  Great 
Western  tier,  rising  not  more  than  a  thousand  feet  from  the  lake, 
but  almost  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  Opposite,  and 
farther  off  beyond  the  Crescent  Lake,  rises  the  grand  Table 
Mountain.  No  signs  of  human  life  an5nvhere.  No  villas  of 
Elizabethan,  or  Gothic,  or  of  Grecian  structure  crown  select 
building-sites  along  the  shore.  No  boats  carry  parasolled  pic- 
nic parties,  under  direction  of  professional  guides,  to  the  admitted 
points  of  attraction,  and  back  at  evening  to  the  big  balconied 
hotel,  where  dinner  has  been  ordered  at  four  o'clock.  All  along 
that  wild  sweep  of  the  northern  shore,  there  is  a  savage  and 
utterly  trackless  wood,  through  which  St.  Kevin  and  the  rest  of 
our  company  once  made  our  way  on  horseback,  at  much  risk  of 
life  and  limb  ;  sometimes  plunging  through  lake,  and  again 
leaping  over  prostrate  trees,  or  pushing  by  main  force  through 
thickets  of  scrub,  that  almost  dragged  us  from  our  saddles.  One 
slender  curl  of  smoke  only  we  can  see  all  round  the  shore — it  is 
from  a  hut  on  the  north-west,  six  miles  off  across  the  lake, 
where  a  solitary  shepherd  predominates  over  a  flock  that  picks 
•up  its  summer  pasture  in  those  parts. 

Why  should  not  Lake  Sorel  also  be  famous.  Where  gleams  and 
ripples  purer,  glassier  water,  mirroring  a  brighter  sky  Where 
does  the  wild  duck  find  securer  nest  than  imder  thy  tea-tree  fringe, 
O  Lake  of  the  south  !  And  the  snow-white  swan,  that  "  On  St. 
Mary's  Lake  floats  double,  swan  and  shadow  " — does  he  float  more 
placidly,  or  fling  on  the  waters  a  more  graceful  reflection  from  his 
stately  neck,  than  thou,  jet  black,  proud-crested  swan  of  the 
antarctic  forest  waters  ?  Some  sweet  singer  shall  berh5mie  thee 
yet,  beautiful  lake  of  the  woods.  To  quoque  fontium  eris  nobilium. 
Haunted  art  thou  now  by  native  devils  only  ;  and  pass-holding 
shepherds  whistle  nigger  melodies  in  the  balmy  air  :  but  spirits 
of  the  great  and  good  who  are  yet  to  be  bred  in  this  southern- 
hemisphere  shall  hover  over  thy  wooded  promontories  in  the 
years  to  come — every  bay  will  have  its  romance  (for  the  blood 
of  man  is  still  red,  and  pride  and  passion  will  yet  make  it  bum 
and  tingle  until  time  shall  be  no  more),  and  the  glancing  of 
thy  sun-Ut,  moon-beloved  ripples  shall  flash  through  the  dreams 
of  poets  yet  imborn, 


JAIL  JOURNAL  277 

We  near  the  Bothwell  side  of  the  lake  :  we  drop  into  the 
cove  where  stands  the  lowly  log-built  hut  of  Cooper,  and  the 
high  sun  warns  us  that  it  is  time  to  begin  our  journey  home- 
ward. But  I  never  leave  the  lakes  without  regret,  and  never 
visit  them  without  wistfully  marking  out,  in  every  green  nook 
£ind  sheltered  bay  we  pass  by,  on  the  Bothwell  shore,  sites  for 
my  own  hermitage  of  gum-tree  logs,  which,  in  fact,  John  Knox 
and  I  had  often  been  on  the  very  point  of  building.  But  Both- 
well  village  seems  to  be  our  predestined  home  or  dungeon, 
while  we  tarry  in  these  realms  of  Hades. 

One  charm  of  the  lake  country  is  its  elevation  ;  high  above  all 
the  odious  stations,  and  townships,  and  the  whole  world  of  con- 
victism  and  scoundreldom,  we  find  om"selves,  as  we  float  on  these 
aerial  waters  amongst  the  very  mountain  peaks,  two  thousand 
feet  nearer  to  the  stars  than  the  mob  of  gaolers  and  prisoners 
that  welter  and  wither  below.  So  are  we  among  them,  but 
not  of  them.  We  are  in  a  higher  atmospheric  stratum ;  and 
the  air  we  breathe,  untainted  by  limgs  of  lags,  is  wafted  to 
us  from  the  wine-dark  Indian  Ocean,  or  the  perfmned 
coral-isles  of  the  sun-bright  Pacific. 

We  glide  now  about  forty  yards  down  the  river  which  connects 
the  two  lakes,  to  the  rude  bridge  where  Cooper  keeps  watch  and 
ward.  Tricolour  paws  the  ground  impatient  on  the  shore,  and 
Fleur-de-hs,  with  her  high-bred  head  aloft,  and  dilated  nostril, 
seems  to  smell  the  stable  of  Nant  Cottage.  So  with  kind  adieux 
we  part.  I  carry  a  young  kangaroo  in  a  bag  (a  present  to  the 
children  from  the  good  family  at  the  Sugar-loaf),  and  with  this 
nursling  resting  on  my  arm  find  it  as  much  as  I  can  do  to  manage 
my  horse.  Madame,  on  Fleur-de-Hs,  leads  the  way ;  round  the 
western  horn  of  Lake  Crescent  we  fly  in  spanking  style  ;  over  the 
Clyde  (which  straightway  hurries  down  into  profound  gorges, 
impervious  to  horses,  and  we  shall  see  it  no  more  for  twenty  miles) ; 
under  the  precipices  of  Table  Moimtain,  blazing  now  like  furnace 
walls  before  the  westering  sun  ;  still  descending,  though  gradually, 
for  we  are  on  the  broad-backed  ridge,  not  on  the  flank  of  the 
mounteiin  range,  and  at  last  draw  bridle  on  the  green-sward  of 
the  "  three-mile  marsh,"  which,  indeed,  is  no  marsh  at  all,  but 
a  lovely  three-mile  meadow,  studded  with  stately  trees.  Before 
us  now  rises  the  rocky  pyramid  of  the  Quoin  Hill,  which  presents 


27^  JAIL  fOVRMAL 

to  this  side  its  precipitous  bluff — for  there  is  no  Tasmanian  hill 
without  its  breakneck  bluff — and  seems  to  taper  to  a  rude  peak, 
inaccessible  to  anything  but  the  eagle.  Yet  I  have  seen  a  young 
lady  of  Bothwell,  a  daring  Scottish  lassie,  ride  to  the  very  apex 
of  that  craggy  peak,  in  derision  of  a  gentleman  who  had  done 
the  feat  for  a  bet. 

Another  mile,  and  we  have  reached  the  shoulder  of  the  Quoin, 
whence  Bothwell  valley  can  be  seen  like  a  map  all  unrolled  far 
below.  The  country  seems  here  to  descend  suddenly,  not  present- 
ing any  uniform  sloping  escarpment,  but  broken  into  a  chaos  of 
wooded  hills  and  winding  glens,  all  clothed  with  noble  trees,  and 
glowing  with  the  golden-blossomed  imderwood  of  mimosa.  To 
our  right,  and  far  below,  opens  the  narrow  rocky  gorge  through 
which  the  Clyde  breaks  its  way  through  the  mountains  ;  beyond, 
stretches,  vast  and  gloomy,  the  mass  of  the  Blue  Hill ;  and  far 
to  the  south  are  the  peaks  of  the  mountains  beyond  the  Derwent, 
covered  with  snow. 

We  have  still  seven  miles  farther  to  ride  ;  but  after  descending 
the  moimtains  slowly,  there  lies  before  us  only  the  level  grassy 
plain  of  Bothwell,  wooded  like  a  vast  park,  over  which  our  horses 
career  like  lightning,  till  they  bury  their  muzzles  in  the  clear 
waters  of  the  Clyde,  at  the  foot  of  Nant  farm.  John  Knox  and 
all  the  children  are  walking  in  the  field  with  the  dogs  ;  they  see 
us  from  the  moment  we  have  forded  the  river  ;  they  run  to  meet 
us  with  welcoming  outcry ;  and  there  is  joy  at  Nant  over  the 
little  kangaroo. 

1853,  January  1st — Nant  Cottage,- — It  is  long  since  I  have 
made  an  entry  in  my  log-book.  Of  literature  I  am  almost  sick, 
and  prefer  farming,  and  making  market  of  my  wool.  There  is 
somewhat  stupel^ng  to  the  brain,  as  well  as  invigorating  to  the 
frame  in  this  genial  clime  and  aromatic  air.  A  phenomenon  for 
which  I  strive  to  account  in  various  modes.  One  of  my  theories 
is  the  peculiar  condition  of  the  atmosphere  with  respect  to  elec- 
tricity. In  the  three  years  I  have  wasted  amongst  these  hills  and 
woods,  there  has  not  been  one  good  thunderstorm  ;  of  single  peals 
or  rolls  of  thunder,  not  more  than  a  dozen  in  three  years  !  and 
even  a  silent  flash  of  summer  lightning  as  rare  as  the  phenomenon 
searched  for  by  Diogenes  with  his  lantern  !  How  precisely  such 
kind  of  atmosphere  affects  human  blood  and  nerves  and  brain  I 


JAIL  JOURNAL  279 

cannot  tell ;  but  the  fact  is  certain — ^there  is  more  langour,  and 
less  excitability  amongst  Tasmanians,  native  or  imported,  than  I 
have  ever  witnessed  before.  They  love  not  walking,  and  are  for- 
ever on  horseback  ;  they  are  incurious,  impassive,  quiescent — and 
what  is  singular,  they  can  drink  more  strong  Uquor,  without  wild 
drunkenness  or  other  evil  effect  upon  health,  than  I  could  have 
conceived  possible.  We,  also,  John  Knox  and  I,  have  eaten 
narcotic  lotus  here ;  and  if  it  has  not  removed,  it  has  surely 
softened  the  sting,  even  of  our  nostalgia.  We,  too,  have  quaffed 
in  these  gardens  the  cup  of  lazy  enchantment,  mingled  for  us  by 
the  hands  of  Fata  Morgana  the  Witch  :  and  if  we  have  not 
forgotten  the  outer  busy  world,  at  least  the  soimd  of  its  loud 
passionate  working  comes  to  our  ear  from  afar  off,  deadened, 
softened,  almost  harmonised,  hke  the  vozi  of  ocean  waves  heard 
in  a  dream,  or  murmuring  through  the  spiral  chambers  of  a 
sea-shell. 

Surely  it  is  not  good  for  us  to  be  here.  I  wish  at  times  to  be 
awake ;  long  for  a  rattling,  sky-rending,  forest-crashing,  earth- 
shaking  thimder-storm,  and  fancy  that  the  lightning  of  heaven 
would  shoot  a  sharper  life  into  blood  and  brain.  Lazily  and 
sleepily  we  even  look  into  the  papers  that  bring  us  periodical 
news  from  the  northern  hemisphere — ^news  perhaps  four  months 
old  ;  and  how  is  it  possible  for  us  to  feel  that  keen  human  interest 
in  transactions  whose  effects  may  all  have  been  reverted,  and 
their  movers  and  actors  all  dead  long  before  the  sound  of  them 
has  reached  our  ears  ?  What  care  we  that  Louis  Napoleon  made 
a  felonious  cowp  d'etat  a  year  ago,  and  fusilladed  Paris,  and 
imprisoned  and  transported  better  men  than  himself  ?  Perhaps 
he  is  guillotined  by  this  time,  or  rusticating  at  Ham  again,  or 
gambler  in  London,  or  Emperor  of  France — it  will  be  all  one,  I 
suppose,  in  a  himdred  years.     , 

Deathly  quiet  is  all  the  dreary  world — asleep  or  swooned  away 
under  the  high-piled  and  double-locked  and  bolted  fetters  of 
royal  and  imperial  conspirators.  Only  a  few  vehement  spirits 
hover  over  and  around  the  dark  and  silent  globe,  searching  for  a 
spot  where  the  dull  mass  may  be  touched  and  informed  with 
vital  flame  once  more.  For  a  moment  I  left  almost  awakened 
when  the  news  came  to  us  that  Louis  Kossuth  had  left  his 
Turkish  retreat,  and  had  sailed  first  to  England  eventually  to 


28o  JAIL  JOURNAL 

America — and  I  read,  almost  with  a  sense  of  returning  life,  the 
glorious  Governor's  impassioned  harangues.  Through  the  United 
States  the  Governor  moved  like  a  demigod  ;  and  the  world  once 
more  hung  enraptured  on  the  fire-tipped  tongue  of  a  true  orator, 
discoursing  of  Justice  and  PubHc  Law  and  Freedom  and  Honour. 
But  I  knew  not  that  the  Great  Repubhc  had  detected  him  as  an 
impostor  ;  and  that  the  magnificent  Magyar  had  sailed  for 
Europe  again  as  Mr.  John  Smith. 

Perhaps  he  thinks  his  Smith  surname  will  save  his  letters  from 
being  rummaged  in  the  British  post-office ;  but  no.  Governor 
Smith,  you  are  one  of  the  dangerous  classes,  and  the  British 
Home  Secretary  knows  his  duty  to  his  god  "  Order."  And 
whither  now  wilt  thou  fly,  O  !  Kossuth  Smith  ? — to  what  powers 
on  earth,  or  over  or  under  the  earth,  wilt  thou  next  appeal  ? 
Behold,  this  world  is  ruled  now  by  Order  and  Commerce  (Com- 
merce, obscenest  of  earth-spirits,  once  named  Mammon,  and 
thought  to  be  a  devil),  and  there  is  no  place  for  thee.  What 
heart  can  dare  now  to  kindle  itself  at  thy  heart  of  fire  ?  What 
ear  will  trust  itself  to  the  entrancement  of  thy  tones  of  power  ? 
I  would.  Governor,  that  thou  wert  now  at  Nant  Cottage — as  well 
here  as  in  any  other  penal  exile — and  we  would  take  thee  to  hunt 
the  kangaroo,  and  put  on  thy  head  a  cabbage-tree  hat,  and  into 
thy  mouth  at  evening  the  dreadful  pipe  of  peace — we  would 
moimt  thee  on  a  steed  of  steeds,  and  sweep  with  thee  through 
forty  miles  of  flowery  and  fragrant  forest,  per  diem,  imtil  the 
nepenthe  had  steeped  thy  soul ;  and  thine  own  Hungary  and 
Danube-stream  would  become  to  thee  as  the  dim  Platonic 
reminiscences  of  a  life  thou  hast  led  in  some  former  state  of 
being,  before  thy  latest  mother  bore  thee. 

A  year  ago,  our  comrade  Meagher  formally  withdrew  his 

parole  ;  and  then,  with  the  assistance  of  friends,  made  his  escape. 
He  is  now  in  America  ;  and  has  been  generously  hailed  and  wel- 
comed there.  I  have  seen  some  of  his  speeches  and  lectures  ;  and 
one  may  easily  guess  that  he  will  keep  most  of  the  favour  he  has 
won.  There  is  no  other  change  of  consequence  amongst  our 
friends  here.  O'Doherty  is  still  at  Hobart  Town,  acting  as 
resident-surgeon  of  St.  Mary's  Hospital ;  and  sometimes  he 
steals  up  to  Bothwell,  to  visit  us  and  breathe  some  of  our 
high  mountain  air. 


7^  "^FT^f*  V '  ?.'*■'  *^  ■  jp-  ^''AJkV 


7^/1  JOURNAL  281 

O'Brien  is  at  New  Norfolk  again  for  the  last  year.  His  health 
is  quite  restored.  I  often  hear  from  him  ;  and  sometimes  go 
down  with  one  of  the  boys  to  see  him.  Next  week,  I  mean  to 
make  such  a  journey,  but  in  the  meantime  am  busy  mowing 
my  hay. 

Now  here  is  my  entry  for  New  Year's  day,  1853.  Probably  I 
shall  not  jot  down  another  memorandum  till  next  New  Year's 
day ;  for  this  diurnal  has  gradually  changed,  first  to  a  hebdo- 
madal, next  to  month' s-mind,  and  at  last  to  an  annual. 


CHAPTER  XX 

Jan.  yrd,  1853 — Bothwell. — I  have  not  yet,  in  this  veritable 
record,  described  any  of  our  kangaroo-hunts — and  what  is 
Van  Diemen's  Land  without  a  kangaroo-hunt  ?  Therefore, 
here  goes. 

Sometimes,  when  Sir  WiUiam  Denison  comes  to  the  country  for 
"  high  hunting,"  with  his  aides-de-camp  and  secretaries,  I  am  told 
he  hunts  with  a  pack  of  beagles,  and  a  great  field  of  horsemen  ; 
but  this  is  not  our  style,  nor  indeed  the  usual  style.  The  proper 
dog  for  this  sport  is  a  kind  of  powerful  greyhoimd  bred  for  the 
purpose  ;  and  two  of  them  are  enough.  One  day,  not  long  ago 
John  Knox  and  I  rode  out  with  Mr.  Reid  and  his  two  dogs,  one  a 
small  thorough-bred  greyhoimd,  the  other  a  large  strong  kangaroo 
dog,  very  like  what  is  called  in  England  a  lurcher,  but  of  finer 
make  and  taller  stature.  We  took  the  direction  of  the  Blue  Hill, 
westward,  and  soon  found  ourselves  in  a  hilly,  rocky,  desolate  and 
thickly-wooded  region,  much  encumbered  by  dead,  prostrate  trees, 
and  cut  up  by  hundreds  of  precipitous  gullies  running  in  all 
directions  ;  and  the  httle  hills  all  as  usual  so  like  to  one  another, 
that  to  fix  a  landmark  is  impossible.  Save  by  the  position  of 
the  sun,  you  cannot  tell  towards  what  point  of  the  compass 
you  are  going.  The  trees  are  so  dense,  also,  on  the  sides  of 
all  the  hills,  and  the  ground  is  so  rough  with  broken  and 
burned  stumps,  rocks,  and  holes,  that  fast  riding  is  out  of  the 
question. 

The  dogs  kept  close  to  our  horse's  feet,  as  we  slowly  penetrated 
this  wilderness,  until  at  last,  irom  behind  a  huge  deca5dng  log, 
with  a  shrill  chirrup  of  terror,\boimded  a  kangaroo.  In  three 
huge  leaps,  springing  on  hinder  legs  and  nervous  tail,  he  was  out  of 
our  sight,  and  away  behind  the  bushes  and  down  the  rocky  gorge. 
But  from  the  moment  his  mouselike  ears  appeared  as  he  rose  to 
his  first  bound,  the  dogs  were  on  his  trail.  "  Hold  him.  Dart !  " 
"  Into  him.  Dean  !  "  (for  one  of  the  dogs  is  named  after  the  mad 
Dean  of  St.  Patrick's).  The  hounds  also  are  out  of  sight  in  an 
instant ;    and  we  hold  in  our  horses,  and  stand  motionless, 

282 


JAIL  JOURNAL  283 

awaiting  the  result.  In  five  or  ten  minutes  they  will  have  either 
worried  him,  or  lost  him  altogether.  In  either  case  they  will 
come  straight  back  to  where  they  left  us  ;  and,  the  moment  they 
appear,  we  shall  know  by  the  expression  of  their  countenances 
whether  they  have  done  their  business.  If  the  kangaroo  has  got 
away,  they  will  slink  back  with  drooping  ears  and  penitent  eyes, 
and  lie  down  to  pant  at  our  feet.  If  they  have  slain  the  enemy, 
they  will  come  bounding  through  the  trees,  with  their  heads  high 
and  their  jaws  bloody,  and  before  coming  quite  up  to  us,  they 
will  turn  and  trot  off,  and  so  bring  us  to  the  spot  where  he  lies 
dead  with  his  throat  cut,  and  his  spine  broken  at  the  neck. 

We  listen,  and  for  a  while  can  hear  the  crash  of  the  dead 
branches  as  the  dogs  rush  on — then,  occasionally,  a  short  angry 
bark — then  dead  silence — and,  presently  after,  the  contrite  Dean 
and  shame-faced  Dart  come  panting  along  ;  they  do  not  dare  to 
look  us  in  the  face,  for  your  dog  is  a  reasonable  and  accountable 
creature,  but  approach  in  a  zig-zag  manner,  and  lie  down  on  their 
sides,  heaving  as  if  their  ribs  would  burst.  We  do  not  reproach 
them — their  own  failure  is  punishment  enough  ;  and,  in  fact,  in  a 
country  like  this,  if  the  kangaroo  can  get  a  rocky  descent  to  make 
for,  with  a  rough  and  scrubby  place  at  the  foot  of  it,  he  is  almost 
sure  to  get  clear  off,  because  his  spring  is  much  longer  going  down 
hill,  and  the  rocky  encumbered  ground  would  cut  the  dogs  to 
pieces  if  they  put  on  their  full  speed.  But  if  they  can  once  get 
the  rogue  before  them,  in  full  view,  and  on  a  partially  clear  and 
level  place,  they  will  be  upon  him  in  a  few  leaps.  For  the  actual 
speed  of  a  kangaroo  is  by  no  means  equal  to  that  of  a  hare. 

We  proceed  still  further  amongst  the  hills,  and  presently 
another  "  brush  "  breaks  cover.  Again  the  dogs  disappear  in  a 
twinkling.  We  hear  a  sharp,  angry,  almost  constant  barking — 
then  there  is  silence,  and  then  from  a  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  rings  the  loud  yell  of  one  of  the  dogs.  They  are  worrying 
the  enemy  ;  and  by  that  yell  we  know  he  does  not  fall  entirely 
unavenged.  We  dare  not  move,  however,  in  that  direction,  lest 
we  should  miss  the  dogs  among  the  winding  gullies,  but  wait 
impatiently  a  minute.  The  dogs  come  up !  they  assure  us  it  is 
all  right ;  but  Dean  has  his  face  torn  open  from  the  ear  to  the 
muzzle.  For  when  a  powerful  kangaroo  is  driven  to  bay,  he  sets 
himself  against  a  tree,  holds  his  head  back,  and  fights  with  his 


284  JAIL  JOURNAL 

long  hinder  feet,  which  he  raises  up  before  him,  like  a  man 
kicking,  and  the  middle  toe  is  armed  with  a  formidable  claw. 

But  now  comes  an  incident  that  shows  the  training  and  pluck 
of  one  of  these  fine  dogs  ;  for,  just  as  we  are  moving  on  to  follow 
the  dogs  to  their  slaughtered  prey,  another  knagaroo  leaps  out  in 
full  view.  The  dogs,  though  tired  and  panting,  stretch  out  again  ; 
but  Dean,  old,  lazy,  and  wounded,  after  a  few  springs,  gives  up, 
comes  back,  and  asks  leave  to  he  down,  which,  in  consideration  of 
his  age,  character,  and  services,  is  granted.  Dart  is  far  out  of 
sight,  and  we  wait  for  him  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  We  hsten  for 
his  bark,  but  hear  nothing  save  the  shriek  of  a  cockatoo,  or  the 
bugle-note  of  a  white  magpie.  At  last  he  approaches  with  slow 
steps  and  trailing  tail,  yet  with  a  placid  triumph  in  his  eyes. 
"  He  has  him,"  said  Reid  ;  "  Well  done.  Dart !  "  "  Good 
Dart!" 

Now,  I  asked,  "  Which  kangaroo  will  he  show  us  ?  There  are 
two  killed,  and  they  he  in  different  directions."  "  You  shall  see," 
was  the  answer.  So  Dart  led  us  over  several  hills,  through 
several  ravines,  and  presently  stood  still  at  the  foot  of  a  rock. 
There  we  found  the  second  kangaroo — yet  warm,  with  the  hot 
life-stream  still  flowing  from  his  neck.  We  strapped  him  on  one 
of  the  saddles.  And  now  for  the  other !  Will  Dart  ever  find 
his  way  to  the  spot  where  the  first  victim  hes  ?  for  the  two  runs 
had  commenced  from  the  same  point,  but  in  directions  at  nearly 
right  angles  with  one  another.  Reid,  however,  now  said  to  the 
dog,  "  Go  on,  old  fellow !  go  on !  go  on !  "  and  the  inteUigent 
creature,  giving  first  a  look  all  round,  though  he  could  see  nothing 
but  the  trees  and  rocks  immediately  around  us,  started  off  quite 
confidently  in  the  direction  he  had  selected.  He  did  not  even 
bring  us  back  to  the  point  whence  the  two  chases  had  diverged 
but  moved  steadily,  as  straight  as  the  crow  flies,  through  several 
narrow  valleys,  over  three  or  four  small  hills  ;  and,  after  follow- 
ing him  half  a  mile,  we  found  the  first  killed  kangaroo  lying  at 
the  root  of  a  gum  tree.  It  was  a  very  large  female,  and  must 
have  weighed  full  50  lbs.  She  must  have  been  hard  nm  ;  for  we 
found  in  her  pocket  one  of  her  young  ones,  that  she  had  not  time 
to  throw  away.  The  femdes,  edways  as  they  rise  from  their  lair, 
at  sight  of  an  enemy,  put  their  hands  in  their  pockets,  and  throw 
their  young  ones  into  some  place  of  safety,  that  they  themselves 


JAIL  JOURNAL  285 

may  run  lighter.  This  one  had  fought  desperately  for  her  life 
and  her  little  joey,  as  the  young  are  called.  Old  Dean's  face  will 
bear  the  furrow  ploughed  by  her  claw  till  his  dying  day.  Round 
her  lay  a  plenteous  pool  of  blood ;  her  head  was  almost  torn 
off ;  and  in  her  side  was  a  deep  wound,  through  which  Dean's 
vengeful  muzzle  had  drank  up  her  life.  We  tied  her  up,  and 
slung  her  across  another  saddle. 

In  the  course  of  about  three  hours  we  started  five,  out  of  which 
the  dogs  lost  two  and  killed  three.  This  is  now  considered  rather 
a  good  day's  sport ;  for  the  kangaroo  is  becoming  scarce  all  over 
the  inhabited  parts  of  the  island.  They  are  much  sought  after, 
not  only  for  their  dainty  brown  flesh,  which  much  resembles  hare, 
but  also  for  their  skins,  which,  in  Launceston  and  Hobart  Town, 
are  tanned  into  very  fine  soft  leather,  by  means  of  the  mimosa,  or 
wattle-bark.  This  is  the  best  tanning  material  in  the  world  ;  and 
of  late  years  the  mimosa  has  become  of  considerable  commercial 
importance,  as  many  cargoes  of  the  bark  are  annually  sent  to 
England.  It  is  one  of  the  very  loveliest  species  of  acacia  ;  and, 
unlike  the  acacias  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  can  endure  a  cold 
climate  ;  even  at  the  lakes,  here  in  Van  Diemen's  Land,  I  have 
seen  it  flourish,  more  than  3,000  feet  above  the  sea.  However, 
this  is  a  treatise  of  kangaroo-hunting,  not  of  botany.  A  kangaroo 
has  strictly  no  connection  with  the  wattle-tree,  more  than  a  calf 
has  with  a  lemon-tree ;  yet,  as  a  loin  of  veal  may  legitimately 
suggest  a  lemon,  so  may  a  kangaroo  skin  associate  itself  with  the 
graceful  tree  whose  bark  is  used  to  dress  it.  Wonderful  and 
subtle  is  the  association  of  ideas — a  "  laughing  jackass  "  (grey 
bird,  about  the  size  of  a  thrush)  brays  and  giggles  on  a  branch 
near  by  ;  if  one  should  only  let  his  mind  nm  along  the  chaiii  of 
associations  linked  with  the  name  and  the  senseless  guffaw  of  this 
creature — where  would  it  stop  ?  Such  and  so  philosophic  are 
our  reflections,  as  we  sit  upon  a  prostrate  tree,  near  a  spring ; 
and,  content  with  our  day's  hunting,  take  a  moderate  sip  from 
the  tiny  brandy  flask.  Then  to  Bothwell,  and  to  dinner  at 
Mr.  Reid's. 

January  $th. — I  am  prosecuting  my  hay-harvest  dihgently, 
with  the  aid  of  two  or  three  horrible  convict  cut-throats,  all  from 
Ireland — and  all,  by  their  own  account,  transported  for  seizing 
arms.    This  is  considered,  amongst  these  fellows,  a  respectable 


286  JAIL  JOURNAL 

sort  of  offence.  The  rascals  can  earn  ten  British  shilHngs  per 
diem,  at  harvest-time  ;  and  they  Hve  all  the  year  round  like  Irish 
kings,  not  to  speak  of  Irish  cut-throats.  They  don't  like  to 
work  too  hard,  and  require  a  good  deal  of  wine.  They  come 
early  from  their  work,  smoke  and  chat  with  one  another  all 
evening  in  the  yard,  and  go  to  sleep  in  their  opossum  rugs  in  the 
bam.  Yet,  with  all  this  high  reward  they  receive  for  their 
crimes,  this  paternal  care  to  make  thievery  happy,  and  munificent 
endowment  of  rascality,  the  creatures  are  not  utterly  bad — not 
half  so  bad,  for  example,  as  the  Queen  of  England's  Cabinet 
Councillors.  They  are  civil,  good-natured  with  one  another,  and 
not  thievish  at  all — partly  because  they  are  so  well  off  that  there 
is  little  temptation,  and  partly  because  the  punishments  are 
savage.  However,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  which  I  will  set  down, 
that  in  nearly  three  years,  during  which  time  I  have  been  in  Van 
Diemen's  Land,  for  most  part  in  a  lonely  cottage,  with  windows 
all  round  close  to  the  ground,  and  quite  unsecured,  and  with  two 
or  more  prisoner-servants  afways  about  the  place,  my  family 
have  felt  as  secure,  and  slept  as  peacefully,  as  ever  they  did  in 
Banbridge  ;  and  save  one  double-barrelled  gun,  nothing  was  ever 
stolen  from  me.  It  would  be  pleasant  enough  to  see  these  creatures 
comfortable,  and  tolerably  decent  in  their  behaviour,  but  for  the 
thought  that  this  whole  system  is  in  truth  a  fruitful  "  breeder  of 
sinners,"  and  that  the  same  hateful  Government  and  state  of 
society  in  England,  which  so  richly  reward  these  men  for  their 
villainies,  punish,  starve,  and  debase  the  poor  and  honest,  for 
being  poor  and  honest.  Many  a  time,  therefore,  as  I  look  upon 
these  quiet,  well-behaved  men  reaping,  not  too  arduously,  singing, 
or  smoking  in  the  fields,  or  cheerfully  "  following  the  plough  upon 
the  mountain  side,"  or  tending  their  masters'  flocks  in  the  fair 
forest  pastures,  like  human  husbandmen  and  simple  Arcadian 
shepherds — instead  of  rejoicing  in  their  improved  conditions  and 
behaviour,  I  gaze  on  them  with  horror,  as  unclean  and  inhuman 
monsters,  due  long  ago  to  the  gallows-tree  and  oblivion  ;  and  then 
the  very  sunlight  in  this  most  radiant  land  takes  a  livid  hue  to 
my  eyes  !  the  waving,  whispering  woods  put  on  a  brown  horror, 
like  the  forests  that  wave  and  sigh  through  Dante's  Tartarean 
vision.  The  soft  west  wind  that  blows  here  for  ever,  has  a 
moan  like  the  moan  of  damned  souls  !  the  stars  look  dim  ;  and 


JAIL  JOURNAL  287 

on  the  comer  of  the  moon  there  hangs  a  vaporous  drop  pro- 
found.   The  Devil's  in  it. 

This  subterranean  and  altogether  infernal  mood  of  mind  is 
helped  by  some  of  the  names  that  the  early  colonists  have  given 
to  hills  and  rivers.  In  Bothwell  district  we  have  a  ravine  called 
"  Hell's  Gates,"  through  whose  dismal  shade  you  pass  to  a  hill 
overlooking  the  junction  of  two  rivers,  a  steep  and  grassy  hill, 
embowered  with  thickets  of  mimosa,  but  bearing  the  awful  name 
— "  Hill  of  Blazes."  Into  the  Derwent,  near  New  Norfolk,  flows 
the  river  "  Styx  "  ;  and  Charon's  ferry-boat  never  touched  the 
banks  of  Asphodel  meadows  so  fair  as  the  tufted  hills  that  are 
laved  by  the  crystalline  waters  of  this  Tasmanian  hell-stream, 
named  of  hatred.  Flows  here,  too,  the  real  Lethe  ;  and  men 
grow  like  Lethe's  own  fat  weeds,  that  rot  themselves  at  ease. 
There  is  darkness  around  us,  and  a  sulphury  smell.  How  horrible 
to  live  here  !  How  horrible  to  die  !  I  pray,  as  prayed  the  bearer 
of  the  Seven-fold  Shield,  Oh  !  slay  me  at  least  in  daylight ! 

Tartarean  reapers  of  Erebus !  ye  are  reaping,  with  your  damned 
sickles,  a  harvest  of  hell ;  and  preparing  the  ground  in  these 
Cimmerean  regions  of  outer  darkness  to  yield  crops  of  abomina- 
tion and  horror,  some  thirty-fold,  and  some  sixty-fold,  for  genera- 
tions of  unborn  men. — For  is  not  the  human  species  making 
"  Progress  ?  " 

yth. — Letter  from  Reilly  ;  very  welcome  to  me,  though  it  has 

been  long  on  the  way.    He  writes  from  New  York,  where  he 

seems  to  have  endured  many  a  struggle  and  agony  that  might 

well  have  crushed  and  subdued  any  less  fiery  spirit.    Truly,  we 

think  our  own  case  hard,  chained  here  under  the  Southern  Cross  ; 

yet  on  the  whole,  our  poor  friends  who  escaped  the  talons  of 

British  law,  have  had  a  far  worse  time  of  it.     The  letter  is  in  his 

usual  style,  glowing  now  with  a  wild,  rollicking  eloquence,  melting 

with  brotherly  tenderness  (for  we  are  brothers,  indeed),  raging 

with  the  savage  indignation  that  gnaws  his  heart — full  of  hope, 

full  of  despair  ;  merry  and  miserable.     I  have  read  it  with  much 

laughter  ;  and  if  I  had  yet  tears  to  shed,  they  would  have  flowed 

over  it.* 

*  Thomas  Devin  Reilly  is  dead.  The  largest  heart,  the  most  daring 
spirit,  the  loftiest  genius  of  all  Irish  rebels  in  these  latter  days  sleeps  now 
in  his  American  grave.  Many  a  reader  will  be  glad  to  see  how,  and  in 
what  terms,  he  wrote  of  the  men  and  scenes  around  him,  to  a  friend  at 
the  antipodes. 


288  JAIL  JOURNAL 

First,  he  addresses  himself,  poor  fellow !  to  console  and  en- 
courage me  : — "  Now,  that  your  wife  and  babes  are  with  you — 
that  you  have  sheep  and  ducks  and  lambs,  and  goslings,  you 
ought  to  be  as  happy  as  any  man  can  be,  bom  on  the  Acropolis, 
and  banished  to  Arcadia.  Would  you  make  yourself  Touchstone, 
and  sigh  for  courts  and  the  busy  world  ?  For  shame,  man.  It 
is  well  for  you,  at  all  events,  for  the  last  two  years,  that  you 

have  been  tied  up  by  your  enemies." Be  it  so  :  but  who  told 

you  that  I  was  a  Touchstone,  and  sighed  for  courts,  my  dear 
friend  ?  Courts,  quotha  ?  I  sigh  only  to  set  fire  to  them  ;  and 
as  for  being  "  happy  "  here — come  and  spend  one  year  with  me 
at  Nant  Cottage,  and  see  how  it  will  agree  with  you  !  Here  is 
the  account  he  gives  (the  letter  is  dated  April  24th,  1852)  of  the 
European  republicans  in  those  days.  The  strange  narrative  of 
his  interview  with  the  intellectual  Kalmuck,  Kossuth,  will  give 
a  vivid  page  to  my  memorandum  book. 

"  Garibaldi  carrieth  hides  and  com,  somewhere  in  your  vicinity, 
on  the  Pacific,  between  South  America  and  California.  Mazzini 
has  allied  himself  with  the  English  '  Liberals '  and  '  Protestant- 
ism,' disowned  the  Chartists,  abused  the  French  Socialists,  and 
avowed  himself  for  the  establishment  of  a  *  liberal  consohdated 
Italian  unity,'  and  against  popery  as  a  reUgious  creed.  He  is 
dead  and  done  for,  and  will  have  to  go,  with  his  '  liberals '  and 
his  '  Protestantism.'  " — This,  to  me,  oh  Devin !  is  not  so  clear. 
There  is  no  harm,  I  suppose,  in  a  man's  being  against  popery,  or 
against  Protestantism,  "  as  a  religious  creed  " — ^no  harm,  I  mean, 
in  a  revolutionary  sense,  £ind  for  this  world's  business  (for  of 
course  his  soul  will  "  go,"  as  you  call  it).  But,  if  I  mistake  nftt, 
Thomas  Jefferson  (no  bad  revolutionist)  was  against  popery  as  a 
creed.  However,  enter  the  Kalmuck — "  Kossuth  has  played  the 
devil  with  himself — allied  himself  with  the  English  Liberals,  too 
— breakfasted,  dined,  tea'd,  and  was  led  round  by  Lord  Dudley 
Stuart,  and  that  rascal  crew  [let  me  interpose  here  to  remark 
that  Lord  Dudley  Stuart  is  not  rascal,  but  only  ninnyhammer, 
amaddn  and  mooncalf] — then  came  to  this  country  with  a  suite, 
in  imiform  and  livery,  put  on  a  devil  of  a  lot  of  airs,  made  magnifi- 
cent and  telling  speeches  in  the  good  cause,  but  beslavered  the 
English  and  their  Constitutions,  advised  the  Irish  to  unite  with 
them,  and  help  the  great  English  people,  from  Palmerston  down 


Michael  Doheny 


JAIL  JOURNAL  289 

• 

to  the  voter,  '  to  free  Europe  ! ' — and  may  now  be  considered  to 
be  snuffed  out,  or  flickering.  I  must  confess  this  is  an  inconstant 
people,  especially  to  distinguished  strangers  :  after  bepraising 
them,  bedining  them,  and  bespeeching  them,  lest  the  rogues 
should,  on  their  return  to  Europe,  repay  their  hospitality  by 
abusing  them,  as  Dickens  and  Moore  and  others  of  that  kidney 
did,  they  take  time  with  the  whip-hand,  and  anticipate  the  poor 
devil  they  have  honoured  by  immediately  abusing  him  themselves 
— [And  why  not  ?  It  is  acting  upon  the  ancient  receipt,  to  pre- 
vent one's  self  from  being  tossed  by  a  bull,  '  Toss  him.'].  It  is 
a  national  characteristic,  founded  on  wit  and  policy,  and  ex- 
perience of  distinguished  strangers.  But,  at  the  same  time, 
Kossuth  has  not  done  well  or  wisely.  He  has  gathered  some 
money,  and  considerably  injured  a  good  cause.  He  is  as  pre- 
cipitate as  a  vixen,  puts  on  sagacity  in  public,  as  a  foolish  girl 
would  a  hood,  and  keeps  eternally  looking  out  at  the  bystanders, 
to  see  if  they  know  him  under  the  disguise." 

Well,  I  cannot  say  that  the  above  paints  the  Hun  to  my  eyes 
very  life-like  ;  but  here  comes  the  governor  in  person.  Reilly 
continues  :  "I  had  a  private  interview  with  him  of  some  length. 
He  reminded  me  of  Urquhart.  No  doubt  he  set  me  down  for  an 
Irish  idiot ;  but.  Lord  !  it  was  a  comical  scene.  ...  He  is  a 
fine-looking  fellow  :  has  great  eyes,  half-a-dozen  foreheads  round 
his  head,  and  probably  one  at  the  back,  stuffed  with  all  sorts  of 
'  languidges,'  including  the  '  languidge  of  flours  and  luv  ' ;  dark 
hair,  and  brownish-black  beard,  both  roughcast  with  grey,  Uke 
imitation  granite,  and  the  latter  as  stiff  as  a  heckler's  steel  comb, 
and  sticking  out  huge,  round  and  round,  like  rays  of  the  light  of 
darkness ;  light  made,  middle-sized— a  most  intellectual  Cal- 
muck." 

Now,  that  will  do.  The  man  is  posed  ;  he  is  mis  en  scene.  Now 
for  your  interview  of  some  length.  Go  on.  "  They  had  slavered 
him  here  at  such  a  rate  that  when  I  proceeded  to  argue  with  him 
he  bounded  off  his  chair,  cooled  himself  with  a  cigar,  fore-fingered 
a  fellow  (like  Urquhart,  you  know),  and  proceeded  to  show  me 
in  the  usual  dogmatic  manner  that  that  was  thai.  Dixi.  So 
did  I,  just  the  same  ;  gave  him  Dixi  for  Dixi,  with  a  profound 
dip  and  a  flat  contradiction.  Lord  !  if  you  had  seen  him  then  ! 
— ten  hundred  Urquharts  '  rowled  into  one/  were  nothing  to 
19 


290  JAIL  JOURNAL 

him.  So  we  came  to  figures ;  he  calmed,  and  became  placid. 
I  begged  him  not  to  precipitate  the  whole  cause  of  Europe  on  him- 
self and  his  country.  No  ?  his  letters  informed  him  that  in  three 
months  insurrection  would  be  in  France,  and  a  true  republic. 
I  hinted  my  experience  in  programmes,  upon  such  occasions 
especially  as  to  dates.  Like  John  Martin,  he  propounded  the 
orthodox  dogma  that  I  was  a  '  young  man '  —my  experience 
was  nothing.  He  had  played  with  the  blood  of  nations  on 
the  battle-field.  (Lord !  how  that  stung !  but  he  did  not  see  it. 
If  we  had  only  fought,  somebody  else,  too,  would  have  played 
with  at  least  two  units  of  the  blood  of  nations) — ^but  my  ex- 
perience, he  continued,  might  come  yet.  Then  I  would  know 
what  it  was  to  hear  the  cries  of  a  nation  sinking  unto  death.  In 
three  months,  his  standard  would  be  above  him — in  three  months 
the  armies  of  the  true  French  Repubhc  would  be — and  so  forth. 
Within  three  weeks  and  less,  the  news  reached  us  that 
Louis  Napoleon  had  mastered  the  French  people  by  a  coup, 
a  razzia  at  night,  and  a  battue  on  the  general  public  for  ten 
days  after." 

My  dear  fellow  !  all  this  I  know,  through  "  the  usual  channels 
of  information  "  ;  for  the  immortal  printing-press  executes  its 
holy  mission  even  here  also.  Therefore  drop  contemporary 
history,  and  give  me  more  about  the  Magyar.  I  can  fancy  these 
two  strange  interlocutors — a  Celtic  O'Reilly  of  Brefni-O'Reilly, 
and  a  Calmuck  Tartar,  whose  forefathers  pitched  black  tents  on 
the  steppes  of  the  Yenisei,  meeting  in  one  room  in  that  busy 
New  York  City,  so  indifferent  to  both  Celt  and  Calmuck — and 
trying,  by  help  of  cigars  and  gesticulation,  to  bring  about  an 
agreement  between  themselves  as  to  how  this  globe  was  to  be 
rescued  from  the  kings  and  the  devils.  I  wish  I  had  been  there 
to  make  a  trio.    But  go  on,  Devin. 

"  The  Irish  and  priestly  organs  here  had  opposed  him  and 

his  coimtry  (they  now  toast  and  bless  Louis  Napoleon  for  having 
saved  '  Order '  and  Rehgion),  and  so  I  told  him  that  I  wished  at 
all  events  to  assure  him  of  the  deep  sympathy  and  affection  of  all 
Irish  republicans.  I  explained  to  him,  however,  exactly,  and  in 
plain  terms,  what  he  would  get — refusal,  in  the  way  he  sought 
help.  Whether  it  was  that  my  always  eloquent  method  of  public 
speaking  came  to  my  aid,  or  that  it  was  the  first  honest  and  true 


JAIL  JOURNAL  291 

word  he  had  heard  here  (but  I  think  it  must  have  been  the  public 
speaking),  he  hung  his  head  for  a  minute,  was  silent,  and  the  big 
tears  stood  in  his  eyes.  '  Then,'  he  said,  '  my  mission  '  (what 
fools  to  have  missions  !  But  probably  it  is  the  way  they  speak 
commonsense  and  manhood  in  England,  and  among  the  '  hberals,' 
that  taught  him  the  damned  idiom) — '  then  mine  mission  is  lost 
— defeated — I  may  return  to  mine  country  and  die.' 

"  I  fear  he  will  go  back  with  a  very  bad  idea  (in  both  senses) 
of  the  real  springs  of  policy  in  this  country.  However,  he  has 
extinguished  himself,  and  will  never  lead  in  Europe  again  [be  not 
too  sure  of  that,  O  !  Devin  Reilly],  and  being  so,  you  can  fancy 
the  above  interview  [Yes,  I  canj — this  child  on  one  side,  and  a, 
Csdmuck  Urquhart  made  of  indiarubber,  jumping  about,  one 
moment  sinuous  as  a  pickpocket  or  a  rattle-snake  without 
the  rattles — then  ricochetting  on  his  chair  at  the  smallest 
contradiction,  using  arms,  legs,  head,  face,  eyes,  tongue,  beard, 
forefinger,  cigar,  and  back-bone  in  joints,  in  his  tremendous 
eloquence." 

Ah !  it  is  enough.  Shady  is  the  vale  of  Clyde,  and  rural  the 
cottage  of  Nant ;  but,  without  meaning  disrespect  to  the  South 
Pole,  I  would  that  I  were  smoking  a  cigar  with  that  Calmuck 
and  that  Celt  in  that  Excelsior  Knickerbocker  city !  Stay, 
here  is  still  more  of  the  Magyar,  from  another  part  of  the  letter. 

Sayeth  the  Celt  of  the  Calmuck 

"  He  '  prays  to  God  '  too  much,  speechificatorily,  carries  his 
tears  in  his  pocket,  and  can  weep,  and  can  actually  wet  his 
handkerchief,  as  mere  touches  of  rhetoric  and  good  points.  His 
thanks  for  an5^hing  and  everything  he  gets  (a  Rev.  Mrs.  O'Dono- 
hue,  of  Cincinnati  and  pork,  presented  him  with  her  infant  son  as 
an  offering  to  Hungary — ^he  would  be  taught  to  raise  his  little 
hat  and  feather  to  the  cause  of  Hungary,  when  he  would  hear  in 
his  Uttle  ears  of  her  being  freed  by  the  great  Kossuth  ;  and  he 
took  it,  and  made  a  prayer — O  Lord,  what  a  prayer  ! — if  He  who 
sitteth  in  the  heavens  heard  it.  He  must  have  laughed — pray  Grod 
that  blessed  infant  may  not  be  tempted  to  try  experiments  with 
the  hat  and  feather,  as  naughty  Master  Gargantua  did  with  the 
lady's  ruff ;  for  it  might  tear  his  tender  flesh  with  the  cruel 
buckle,  and   so  defeat  the   hope  of  Hungary) — pardon  this 


292  JAIL  JOURNAL 

parenthesis,  Master  John  [now,  what  is  the  use  of  a  second 
parenthesis  to  excuse  the  first ;  which  provokes  this  third 
parenthesis  from  me  ?] — in  capacity  to  take  anything  he  gets, 
and  to  appraise  it  in  thanks,  he  is  as  good  as  O'Connell.  But 
I  tire  you  with  this  long  description." 

Why,  yes  ;  a  httle.  Take  up  another  man  :  say  yourself,  my 
dear  friend.  He  (Reilly)  is  now,  it  seems,  writing  in  the  Demo- 
craiic  Review  ;  and  from  the  tone  of  much  of  his  letter  I  perceive 
that  he  is  exerting  every  nerve  of  body  and  brain,  labouring  as 
did  never  Hercules  in  his  combat  with  the  hydra  of  Lema — to 
kill,  to  crush,  to  smash,  blow  to  atoms,  turn  inside  out,  and 
trample  into  the  earth,  a  gang  of  desperadoes  (they  must  be  the 
enemies  of  the  human  race)  whom  he  names  Old  Fogies.  Now, 
the  usual  channels  of  information  have  not  brought  me  informa- 
tion who  these  old  sinners  specially  are  :  but  I  sympathise  with 
my  friend's  animosity,  and  hate  them  in  advance.  He  gives  a 
sad  account  of  himself  before  the  reviewing  came,  and  this  deadly 
fight  with  the  Fogies.  He  says — "  When  I  received  that  letter 
of  yours,  I  was  in  the  depth  of  poverty  and  misery  of  mind,  yet 
struggling  to  compass  this  position  I  have  now  attained.  My 
heart  was  too  sore,  and  I  was  too  anxious  to  tell  you  some  good 
news,  to  answer  it.  Then,  as  the  prospect  brightened,  and  I 
saw  before  me  an  eventual  success  in  my  efforts  to  get  the 
Review,  I  began  to  scribble  and  scrawl,  in  fits  and  starts,  my 
plans ;  and  the  accumulated  bulk  of  prospective  intentions  is 
now  in  part  condensed  in  the  columns  thereof." 

He  has  found  an  Irish  wife,  too,  in  America  ;  and  in  all  his 
"  soreness  of  heart,"  his  poverty  and  misery,  this  treasure  of  a 
wife  seems  to  be  his  best  guardian,  guide,  and  tower  of  strength. 
On  her  is  lavished  all  the  passionate  tenderness  of  his  exaggerative 
nature  :  and  he  loves  her  as  he  hates  an  Old  Fogy.  In  doleful 
strain  he  goes  on  :  "In  my  worst  misery  I  lost  my  boy,  called 
after  you  ;  then  in  my  first  month  of  editing  I  had  to  rise  from 
my  writing  to  bury  my  little  daughter.  I  thought  God,  or  fate, 
was  going  to  strip  me  stark  naked  for  the  combat — and  that 
long  ill-health,  fretting,  poverty,  and  these  accumulated  sorrows, 
were  about  to  deprive  me  even  of  the  last  vesture,  my  wife." 

Here  follows  a  record  of  more,  and  more  touching  sorrows ; 
but  let  them  be  sacred.     God  or  fate  never  smote  a  stouter 


JAIL  JOURNAL  293 

heart ;  and  from  that  sore  smiting,  stripping  bare,  and  crushing 
fall  to  earth,  the  young  earth-bom  Titan  will  spring  up  more 
Titanic  still. 

Soon  he  leaves  his  own  sorrows  behind  him  ;  and  begins  to  tell 
me  eagerly  and  earnestly  about  a  certain  "  Douglas."  Now,  who 
the  mischief  is  Douglas  ?*  Enter  Douglas,  introduced  by  Devin 
Reilly — "  A  fine  httle  fellow,  about  forty,  or  five-and-forty, 
squat-built,  of  great  eloquence  and  rare  abiUties  as  a 
statesman,  a  thorough  democrat,  and  hates  England  very 
well  for  an  American." 

One  begins  to  take  an  interest  in  this  small  man  of  great 
eloquence ;  and  on  reading  further,  I  discover  that  Reilly 
and  his  Review  want  to  make  him  no  less  than  President  of 
the  United  States. 

"  It  was  a  desperate  move,  to  carry  a  nation  by  storm  ;  and  we 
may  be  killed  in  the  very  heart  of  the  citadel  [I  hope  not,  Tom]  ; 
but  it  was  the  best  move  on  the  board  ;  and  once  carried,  all  was 
pretty  certain  afterwards.  Douglas,  if  he  attain  power  (he  may 
be,  and  is,  timid  £ind  wavering  in  the  method  of  getting  in,  but), 
once  in,  I  am  persuaded,  if  the  Maker  of  men  does  not  sell  wooden 
nutmegs,  that  he  will  prove  spicy  to  the  core,  and  ride  roughshod 
over  all  antagonists,  native  and  especially  foreign  [From  which 
I  infer  that  this  Mr.  Douglas  is,  at  any  rate,  not  an  Old  Fogy]. 
It  is  now  acknowledged  we,  that  is,  T.  D.  R.,  that  is  The 
Democratic  Review,  have  killed  dead  the  Old  Fogies,  and  carried 
for  him  in  convention  the  State  of  New  York." 

What  this  last  carr5dng  in  Convention  may  mean  or  amount  to 
I  know  not — but  I  am  glad  the  Old  Fogies  are  dead.  John  Knox 
indeed,  as  he  smokes  by  the  fire,  while  I  read  him  the  letter,  often 
lifts  his  eye-brows  high,  and  sometimes  takes  the  pipe  our  of  his 
mouth  to  exclaim,  "  God  bless  me  !  who  are  these  poor  Fogies  ?  " 
He  trusts  their  sins  may  be  forgiven  them ;  but  I,  on  the 
other  hand,  insult  their  ashes,  in  S5nnpathy  with  the  fury  of 
my  friend  ;  and  drink  to-night  to  the  success  of  Douglas,  small 
of  bulk,  but  spicy  to  the  core. 


•  I  beg  pardon  now  [New  York,  August  1st,  1854),  for  the  excusable 
ignorance  betrayed  in  the  above  ejacualtion  ;  which,  however,  may  be 
somewhat  palliated  by  my  retired  way  of  life  some  years  before. — J.M. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

8th  January,  1853 — Bothwell. — ^To-day  we  resumed  (John  Knox 
and  myself)  our  reading  of  Reilly's  letter,  or  letters,  from  New 
York.  There  are  about  forty-five  pages  of  them,  written  at 
various  times ;  and  with  supreme  disregard  to  consecutiveness 
and  coherency ;  so  that  we  feel  as  if  our  impetuous  friend  were 
sitting  with  us,  at  our  cottage  door,  in  the  summer  evening, 
smoking  and  pouring  out  by  fits  his  wild  discourse. 

It  seems  he  has  been  writing  in  three  or  four  other  pubUcations 
before  throwing  himself  into  this  Democratic  Review.  His  first 
publication  was  The  People,  a  weekly  newspaper,  wherein  he 
seems  to  have  tried  with  all  his  might  to  explode  the  old  principle 
of  American  "  non-intervention."  He  accounts  for  the  failure 
of  that  organ  intelligibly  enough.  "  To  both  parties,"  he  says, 
"  the  principles  of  intervention  in  European  affairs  were  foreign : 
and  since  (save  in  times  of  political  refugeeism,  and  even  to  some 
extent  then),  the  immigration  here  was  composed  of  characters 
not  always  the  most  trustworthy  or  true,  and  of  human  sem- 
blances not  always  the  most  gratifying  examples  of  European 
production,  a  general  distrust  of  all  foreigners  pervaded  the 
entire  people.  Add  to  this,  my  profound  ignorance  of  American 
poUtics  on  my  arrival,  and  further  ignorance  of  parties  and 
persons." 

Then  his  associate  in  the  undertaking  was,  it  seems,  a 
"  whig,"  "  A  good  fellow  named  Robinson,  of  the  great  family 
mentioned  in  Ceirpenter's  spelling  book,  in  connection  with 
Smith,  Brown,  and  Jones,  and  with  drowning ;  who,  being 
an  extravagant  whig  blowing-horn  among  the  Irish,  drowned 
me." 

John  Knox  here  quarrels  with  Devin's  metaphor,  sa5dng 
reasonably  enough,  that  it  is  impossible  to  be  drowned  by  a 
blowing-horn.  "  If  he  had  said  blown  up,  now,"  said  Knox,  "  or 
blown  away  "  ;  but  I,  deeming  his  criticism  frivolous,  interrupt 
him  with  the  interjection,  "  You  be  blowed  !  "  and  continue  my 

294 


JAIL  JOURNAL  295 

reading.  "  No  effort  of  mine  could  save  me  from  the  charge  of 
being  a  whig,  and  therefore  a  bad  democrat  and  bad  Irishman, 
because  I  had  formed  this  connection." 

"  Again — I  had  some  few  who  understood  me,  especially  Poles, 
Italians,  French  [no  doubt,  they  would  understand  intervention] 
and  Republican  Americans :  but,  generally  speaking,  I  was  in 
this  fix — Americans,  from  the  President  (and  old  Zack  did  pay 
his  subscripticn  like  a  man,  peace  be  to  his  fine  old  red  corpse  of 
rusty  iron)  down  to  my  tailor,  looked  at  my  paper,  sneered, 
shrugged,  pooh-poohed ;  or  said  '  clever,'  but  always  added 
'  Irish.'  "  "  Then  the  priests,  when  I  plainly  took  sides  against 
the  Pope,  and  '  interests  of  religion,'  pronounced  me  a  heretic 
["  God  bless  me,"  says  Knox,  "  could  the  poor  priests  do  less  ?  "] 
and  the  Church  organ  excommimicated  me  (that,  says  Knox, 
was  going  too  far] — and  the  servant  maids  shuddered  at  my 
name." — —"  O,  weary  me  !  you  know  it  all :  well,  that's  the 
way  the  People  failed." — And  a  very  natural  way,  too. 

Then  came  poverty,  and  more  poverty — ^Tom's  American 
tailor  now  doing  worse  than  sneering  :  but  he  continues — 
"  Living  on  nothing  at  all  a  week  and  finding  myself,  would  not 
do  :  so  I  was  soon  in  New  York,  taking  or  about  to  take  the  Whig 
Review  (leading  Conservative  and  High  Tory  organ)  as  far  as 
possible  into  democracy.  I  will  send,  if  possible,  some  of  these. 
[No  Whig  Reviews,  however,  have  reached  Tasmania].  For  six 
months  I  wrote  in  that  Review,  and  drove  the  knife  up  to  the 
handle  as  often  as  I  could  " — [that  is,  he  drove  the  Red  Re- 
publican and  fiUbuster  sword  of  sharpness  into  the  flabby  body 
of  whiggeryj — so  "  the  whigs  drove  me  out  of  their  ranks  as  an 
incendiary  and  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing,  and  a  snake  in  the  grass, 
and  a  monomaniac,  and  the  devil  knows  what  besides." 

Yet,  it  seems  he  leaves  an  impression — ^Thomas  Devin  Reilly, 
his  mark  ;  which  can  afterwards  be  read  by  those  who  run.  He 
says  :  "  Elections  come  on.  I  receive  letters,  invitations,  thanks, 
praises  from  the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  Party.  The  other 
night,  I  walked  into  their  meeting,  heard  my  dreams  of  years 
pronounced  from  the  Democratic  platform,  received  the  pledge  of 
the  influential  to  drive  the  matter  on,  was  introduced  all  round 
as  the  author  of  so-and-so." 

"  Really,  my  friend,  if  I  succeed  in  these  things,  and  have  but 


296  JAIL  JOURNAL 

one  hand  in  pouring  down  one  American  torrent  upon  Europe,  I 
shall  consider,  when  we  meet,  that  though  I  was  swept  over  and 
under  and  up  again,  and  did  many  wrong,  many  despairing, 
many  rash  things,  as  is  natural  to  '  a  yoimg  man  '  with  red  hair, 
and  pecuharly  nervosanguineous  temperament  (as  one  of  my 
medical  friends  remarks  on  shooting  excursions),  that  I  have  really 
done  something  which  may  entitle  me,  when  you  shall  be  at  the 
head  of  affairs  ["  What  does  he  mean  by  that  ?  "  says  Mr.  Knox, 
taking  his  pipe  from  his  hps.    Why,  he  means,  my  dear  fellow, 
when  I  shall  be  in  America,   directing  the  fihbustering  and 
crusading  energies  of  that  republic  to  the  regeneration  of  the 
human  race — sending  forth  armies  of  fiery  Yankees  to  set  Poland 
on  her  feet,  to  set  Kossuth  high  in  Buda  Pesth,  to  shut  up  the 
Emperor  Napoleon  in  Ham  once  more — to  erect  provisional 
governments  in  Dublin  Castle,   Buckingham   Palace,   Vienna, 
Berlin,  and  Milan,  to  drive  the  Czar  back  to  Tobolsk,  to  turn  the 
Italian  "  sigh  of  ages  "  into  an  lo  Poean,  and  to  kick  the  Pope's 
three  hats  from  Cape  Spartivento  to  the  Alps.     He  means  this. 
"  Ah  !  very  Ukely,"  said  Knox] — entitle  me,"  continues  Devin, 
"  to  a  placid  hole  in  some  sweet  valley,  a  burly  meerschaum,  and 
an  unfathomable  drink.    Now,  I  have  given  you  my  history ; 
and  I  hope  its  exceeding  vanity  and  impertinent  exterior  may 
afford  you  a^  much  amusement  as  the  history  of  any  other  no- 
madic Irishman  or  Gascon." 

However,  the  history  of  this  amazing  Gascon  Irishman  is  not 
over  yet.  He  rushes  with  all  his  soul  into  the  Democratic  Review. 
Here  is  the  account  he  gives  of  his  associates  in  the  undertaking  : 
"  My  publisher  is  an  able  Red  Republican  American,  and  scarlet 
Democrat,  piratic  and  honest — ^Allow  me  to  make  you  acquainted. 
Mr.  Holly,  Mr.  Mitchel — bow.  Mr.  Holly  is  the  best  friend  I  ever 
met  in  America  ;  and  as  (should  the  chance  offer)  we  have  agreed 
to  make  together  a  little  peaceable  campaign  and  shooting  ex- 
cursion, not  on  the  moors,  but,  strange  to  say,  cockney-fashion, 
about  London,  I  trust  that  in  this  country  or  the  next  you  may 
meet.  [Happy  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  this  scarlet  Demo- 
crat, piratic  and  honest.]  I  am  commissioned  also  to  present  to 
you  the  '  love '  of  a  Western  American — and  I  had  rather  take 
his  love  than  his  hate — Corry,  of  Ohio,  whose  speech  formed  the 
leading  feature  of  our  late  '  great  meeting.'    His  democracy  is 


JAIL  JOURNAL  297 

very  extensive,  about  six  and  a  half  feet  from  the  sole  of  the  foot 
to  the  crown,  and  sharp  in  its  way,  for  there  is  not  a  pick  on  him. 
He  is  a  Democratic  lamp-post,  holding  a  big  Hght  in  its  head,  on 
an  almighty  thin  body.     He  knows  you,  too." 

[Sir,  I  am  delighted  to  welcome  you  at  Nant  Cottage.  Please 
to  walk  in.  Stoop  a  little,  lest  you  crack  your  lamp.  You  will 
join  my  friend  Mr.  Knox  and  me  in  a  pipe  of  Cavendish  and  a 
glass  of  Bothwell  beer.] 

Then  comes  Mr.  Saunders,  another  able  man,  and  true  Demo- 
crat. But  I  have  extracted  enough.  Reilly  proceeds  to  talk  of 
Irish  affairs,  and  informs  me  of  the  pending  election  for  New  Ross ; 
wherein  Irelemd  is  to  be  saved,  at  last,  by  the  return  of  Mr.  Gavan 
Duffy,  or,  as  my  correspondent  writes  the  name,  Mr.  Give-in 
Duffy.  On  these  Irish  affairs,  he  expresses  himself,  I  must  admit, 
in  a  very  wild  manner.  "  About  the  '  priests  and  holy  wells,'  all 
I  shall  say  is,  pray  God  to  sink  the  first  to  the  bottom  of  the 
second  !  "  And,  again,  as  to  Ireland.  "  I  have  not  excused,  or 
refused  to  acknowledge  the  black  degradation  to  which  our 
country  is  reduced  ;  but  I  have  said, '  I  grant  ever5d;hing  bad  you 
can  possibly  say  of  my  country  and  countr5nnen  ;  but  then,  the 
worse  she  is,  the  greater  proof  of  her  political  servitude,  for  her 
people  are  a  fine  and  gallant  people,  and  fight,  as  you  well  know. 
Being  so,  you  must  elect  to  make  her  a  friend  or  an  enemy. 
She  must  be  the  avant-garde  into  Europe,  or  the  Vendue.  Throw 
an  army  into  her,  and  you  smash  financially  and  territorially  the 
British  Empire  ;  but  let  the  revolution  burst  and  work  its  way 
in  Italy,  and  be  misrepresented  by  priests  and  Britishers — and 
Ireland  becomes  the  deadliest  foe  of  repubhcanism  in  Europe. 
I  have  talked  in  this  style,  not  without  effect,  I  hope.  I  will 
not  say  more  than  that  I  hope." 

We  close  this  singular  letter,  and  sit  silent  awhile.  At  last, 
quoth  John  Knox,  "  Clearly  to  be  an  Irishman  is  no  high  recom- 
mendation in  the  world  at  present.  I  pity  Reilly,  wearing  and 
wasting  himself  there,  in  that  coil  of  American  politics,  shedding 
out  his  heart's  blood  coined  into  dollars,  for  Whig  or  for  Demo- 
cratic place-hunters,  if  they  will  only  give  him  a  hope,  and  hardly  a 
hope,  for  Ireland — lavishing  without  stint  or  measure  the  ore  of  his 
teeming  brain  for  them — if  they  will  but  say  a  kind  word  (or,  as 
he  says,  poor  fellow) ,  pledge  themselves  in  the  cause  of  Ireland.   Still 


298  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Ireland !  Ireland ! — as  if  Ireland  were  still  aUve,  and  not  a 
corpse.  And  all  this,  while  the  ignohiiny  of  our  dismal 
failure  is  fast  making  the  name  of  Irishman  a  hissing  and  an 
abomination.  It  is  a  desperate  and  most  touching  loyalty  this 
of  Reilly's." 

"  And  what  would  you  have  for  Reilly,  then  ?  "  "A  ticket-of- 
leave,"  says  Knox,  "  and  a  gum-tree  hut,  for  the  present ;  an 
escape  from  the  turmoil  of  what  they  call  politics,  and  an  oppor- 
tunity to  lay  up  and  hoard  thought,  instead  of  wasting  and 
squandering  it ;  to  feed  and  mature  his  genius  here  in  the 
forests,  in  the  kind  lap  of  his  mother  Nature,  instead  of  beggar- 
ing and  debasing  it,  in  pursuit,  indeed,  of  radiant  visions  shining 
from  afar,  but  of  mean  personal  intrigues,  cumbering  and 
spoiling  all  his  present  life.  Better  be  a  shepherd  at  the  lakes 
till  better  times." 

"  That  may  do  well  enough  for  you  and  me,  Mr.  Knox,  but  for 
Reilly,  action  is  his  life.  In  this  same  vehement  action  and  pas- 
sion ;  in  this  grapple  and  struggle  with  fate  and  the  busy  world,  in 
exercising,  and  even  wantonly  wasting  every  faculty  and  energy 
of  mind  and  body,  fitfully  flashing  out  the  rays  of  his  intellect,  be 
it  to  illuminate  or  to  set  on  fire — that  restless  spirit  finds  its  only 
joy,  its  only  possibiUty  of  being.  Bring  him  here,  and  he  would 
hang  himself  on  a  gum  tree.  Rather  let  him  expend  himself 
there,  in  fighting  Fogies,  in  crushing  joyfully  imder  his  heel  the 
head  of  humbug  and  cant.  He  has,  at  all  events,  a  noble  aim, 
and  he  will  prosecute  it  nobly.  Like  Ram-Das,  that  Hindoo 
saint  or  god,  he  feels  that  there  is  fire  enough  in  his  body  to 
bum  up  all  the  baseness  and  poltroonery  in  the  world.  Let 
him  fire  away." 

"  But  he  will  perish."  Let  him  perish.  It  will  be  in  a  great 
cause — and  to  have  an  aim  and  a  cause,  is  not  this  happiness  ? 
How  many  are  there  of  all  the  human  race  who  have  faith  in  any- 
thing, or  aspiration  after  anything  higher  than  their  daily  bread 
and  beer,  their  influence,  social  position,  respectabiHty  in  the  eyes 
of  the  unrespectable  world  ?  Even  in  this  very  devout,  almost 
despairing  loyalty  to  his  discrowned  Queen  and  Mother  Ireland,  is 
there  not  a  joy,  that  colder,  tamer  spirits  never  know  ?  Through 
his  dreams  there  shines  in  upon  him  the  beautiful,  mournful  face 
of  his  sad  Roisin  Duhh,  the  torn  and  crushed  dark  rose  that 


JAIL  JOURNAL  299 

he  has  worn  in  his  heart  from  a  boy,  thrilling  him  with  an  im- 
mortal passion,  Uke  the  passion  that  consumed  the  chieftain  of 
Tir-conail —  . 

"  Over  dews,  over  sands, 

Will  I  fly,  for  your  weal ; 
Your  holy,  delicate  white  hands 

Shall  girdle  me  with  steel — 
At  home  ...  in  your  emerald  bowers, 

From  morning's  dawn  till  e'en, 
You'll  pray  for  me,  my  flower  of  flowers. 
My  Dark  Rosaleen  I 

"Over  hills,  and  through  dales, 
Have  I  roamed  for  your  sake  ; 
All  yesterday  I  sailed  with  sails 

On  river  and  on  lake. 
The  Erne  ...  at  its  highest  flood, 

I  dashed  across  unseen  ; 
For  there  was  lightning  in  my  blood. 
My  Dark  Rosaleen  ! 
My  own  Rosaleen  !  - 

Oh  I    there  was  lightning  in  my  blood — 
Red  lightning  lightened  through  my  blood, 
My  Dark  Rosaleen  !  " 

Happy  whose  veins  yet  shoot  and  glow  with  red  hghtning-blood, 
instead  of  trickling  white  serum  and  Bothwell  beer ! 

"  Don't  the  men,"  said  Knox,  "  finish  the  hay  to-night  ?  " 

"Confoimd  the  hay!  I  tell  you  that  I  envy  Devin  Reilly 
for  being  alive — alive  as  you  and  I  will  never,  never  be  aUve 
again." 

True  enough,  the  hay  was  all  stacked,  and  the  men  came  to  be 
paid.  One  of  them,  a  civil  and  hard-working  cut-throat,  from  the 
county  Limerick,  asked  me  to  sign  a  printed  paper  for  him.  It 
was  a  certificate  that  he  had  been  in  my  emplo5mient,  and  had 
behaved  moderately  well.  "I'm  off  for  the  diggin's  in  Port 
Phihp,"  said  he,  "  to-morrow  ;  my  '  conditional  pardon '  has 
come  to  hand,  and  I  must  have  this  paper  to  show  the 
magistrate  to-morrow  morning,  when  I  go  to  take  out  my 
free  papers." 

"  I  wish  you  luck,  Mike ;  don't  spend  all  your  money  in 
Maskell's  public-house  to-night,"  "  By  my  sowl,  sir,"  said 
Mike,    "  I   must   drink  to-night  to  ould  Garryowen,  and  the 


$00  JAU  JOUkNAt 

sky  over  it.    Good  night,   sir."    To-morrow  I  ride  down  to 
Hobart  To\m,  and  am  to  return  by  New  Norfolk, 

i^th  January. — A  new  personage  has  appeared  amongst  us — 
dropped  from  the  sky,  or  from  New  York.  When  I  arrived  in 
Hobart  Town,  two  or  three  days  ago,  I  went  first,  of  course,  to 
St.  Mary's  Hospital,  where  I  found  St.  Kevin  in  his  laboratory. 
He  opened  his  eyes  wide  when  he  saw  me,  drew  me  into  a  private 
room,  and  bid  me  guess  who  had  come  to  Van  Diemen's  Land. 
Guessing  was  out  of  the  question,  so  I  waited  his  revelation. 
"  Pat  Smyth  !  " 

"  Transported  ?  "  "  No,  my  boy  :  commissioned  by  the  Irish 
Directory  in  New  York  to  procure  the  escape  of  one  or  more  of 
us,  O'Brien  especially — and  with  abundant  means  to  secure  a  ship 
for  San  Francisco,  and  to  provide  for  rescuing  us,  if  necessary,  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  police  magistrate,  after  withdrawing  the  parole 
in  due  form.  He  travels  this  day  by  the  day  coach  from  Laun- 
ceston,  and  is  to  meet  O'Brien  and  me  this  evening  at  Bridgewater 
(ten  miles  off),  instead  of  coming  into  Hobart  Town  direct.  You 
will  go  with  me.  O'Brien  is  to  ride  down  from  New  Norfolk, 
and  we  can  consult  on  the  affair.  There  cannot  be  a  doubt  of 
success,"  added  St.  Kevin,  "  for  at  least  one  of  us." 

I  shook  my  head  at  first,  which  the  Saint  was  going  to  resent 
as  a  personal  insult.  So  we  agreed  to  say  nothing  about  it  till 
we  should  meet  our  friends  in  the  evening.  Smyth's  mission 
certainly  looks  serious;  for  he  is  a  cool-headed  rebel,  by  no 
means  likely  to  come  so  far  without  a  plan,  or  to  play  at  any 
child's  game. 

St.  Kevin  borrowed  a  horse  from  a  priest.  I  rode  my  own ;  and 
at  the  hour  appointed  we  met  O'Brien,  almost  at  the  door  of  the 
hotel,  mounted  on  old  Squirrel.  The  coach  had  not  yet  arrived. 
Seven  o'clock  came,  and  no  coach,  though  it  was  fully  due.  Eight 
o'clock,  half-past  eight,  and  still  no  coach.  All  this  time  we  spent 
sauntering  in  the  garden,  talking  of  the  matter  in  hand.  The  diffi- 
culty, and  almost  impossibility  of  the  whole  four  of  us  availing 
ourselves  of  the  chance,  occurs  at  once.  O'Brien  is  clearly  of 
opinion  that  the  only  mode  of  discharging  ourselves  of  our  parole 
will  be  to  withdraw  it  formally,  each  in  the  police  office  of  his  own 
allotted  district,  giving  the  authorities  full  opportunity  to  take 
him  into  custody  if  they  are  able  (if  not  able,  it  will  be  their  mis- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  301 

fortune) — that  this  must  be  done  within  proper  business  hours, 
from  ten  till  three — that  any  previous  bribery  will  be  quite 
legitimate — even  to  bu5dng  the  pohce  magistrates,  if  there  be 
money  enough — that  any  force  or  violence  (O'Brien  says,  short  of 
killing)  will  then  be  allowable  if  the  rascals  attempt  to  secure  us 
within  their  offices — ^but  that,  in  any  event,  we  are  bound  to 
present  ourselves  in  proper  person,  and  make  the  magistrate 
clearly  understand  (within  his  own  office,  and  with  his  constables 
about  him)  that  our  parole  is  at  an  end,  that  our  ticket-of-leave 
is  resigned,  and  that  we  are  going  away. 

That  we  should  all  four  do  this  simultaneously,  in  our  respective 
police  offices,  appears,  on  full  consideration,  impossible  :  and 
O'Brien  insists  that  /  shall  take  this  turn. 

I  propose  another  plan,  by  which  we  should  get  ourselves 
placed  under  arrest  in  one  spot,  and  in  circumstances  that 
would  make  a  rescue  easy  :  but  O'Brien  and  O'Doherty  hold  to 
the  mode  of  procediue  I  have  already  described. 

Some  mischance  had  delayed  the  coach  ;  and  the  hour  came 
when  O'Brien  and  St.  Kevin  must  return  to  their  respective 
"  registered  lodgings."  They  left  me,  and  I  engaged  a  bed  at 
the  hotel  for  the  night.  Half  an  hour  after  they  had  gone,  the 
coach  drove  up  :  it  was  dark :  I  stood  in  the  hall,  which  was 
brightly  lighted  by  a  lamp.  All  the  passengers  left  the  coach, 
and  walked  into  the  hotel.  Amongst  others,  a  young  man 
stepped  down  from  the  coach,  and  entered.  He  looked  me  full 
in  the  face,  and  I  him.  It  was  Smyth  ;  but  neither  of  us,  after 
four  years,  knew  the  other.  I  listened,  as  he  went  to  the  office, 
and  engaged  a  bed  ;  yet  I  did  not  know  his  voice.  He  came  out 
to  get  his  portmanteau,  and  we  passed  each  other  again  in  the 
hall — "  It  must  be  Smyth,"  I  said ;  "  nobody  else  would  be 
stopping  short  here,  within  ten  miles  of  Hobart  Town."  So  I 
followed  him  out,  and  went  round  after  him  to  the  outer  side  of 
the  coach,  where  all  was  dark.  "  Is  your  name  Smyth  ?  "  He 
turned  upon  me  suddenly  :  clearly  he  thought  it  was  a  detective 
— thought  that  he  had  been  traced  all  the  way  to  the  very  spot 
where  he  was  to  meet  us — that  he  was  a  prisoner,  and  all  was 
over.  I  hastened  to  undeceive  him,  for  he  looked  strongly 
tempted  to  shoot  me,  and  bolt.  "All  right,  Smyth:  silence: 
follow  me  into  the  parlour."      So  I   strolled  carelessly   in. 


302  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Presently  he  joined  me,  and  the  coach  drove  off.  We  spent 
the  evening  together  in  a  private  room.;  and  each  had  much 
to  ask ;  but  we  deferred  speaking  particularly  of  his  plans  till 
we  should  meet  the  rest. 

The  next  evening  at  O'Brien's  lodgings  in  New  Norfolk,  Smyth 
explained  his  instructions — to  secure  the  escape  of  O'Brien  and  of 
me,  or  either  of  us,  if  both  could  not  go — Smyth  himself  being 
ready  and  willing  to  take  the  principal  share  in  all  the  risk  of 
rescuing  us  by  force,  if  force  were  needed.  O'Brien's  "  sentence  " 
being  for  life,  we  both  earnestly  pressed  on  him  that  he  should 
first  avail  himself  of  Smyth's  services.  He  entered  fully  into  his 
reasons  for  declining — he  had  already  had  his  chance,  had  made 
the  attempt  to  escape  from  Maria  Island — it  had  failed  ;  and  the 
expenses  incurred  by  it  had  been  defrayed  by  pubhc  money. 
This,  he  said,  is  your  chance.  Besides,  you  have  stronger  motives 
to  betake  yourself  to  America  than  I  have  ;  and  you  will  be  more 
at  home  there.  It  may  be,  he  continued,  that  the  British 
Government  may  find  it,  sometime  or  other,  their  best  policy 
to  set  me  free,  without  making  submission  to  them  :  in  that  case, 
I  return  to  Ireland  :  if  I  break  away  against  their  will,  Ireland  is 
barred  against  me  for  ever. 

O'Brien,  as  his  friends  know,  is  immovable ;  therefore,  we 
soon  desisted  from  the  vain  attempt  to  shake  his  resolution  : 
and  I  then  declared  that  I  would  make  the  attempt,  in  the  way 
he  prescribed. 

Yesterday,  Smyth  and  I  set  out  for  Bothwell,  I  on  horseback 
he  in  a  sort  of  public  conveyance  ;  for  there  is  a  rough  road  up  the 
valley  of  the  Derwent  as  far  as  Hamilton,  where  the  Clyde  falls 
into  it.  Hamilton  is  a  pretty,  straggling  village,  with  a  good  hotel 
a  police-office,  a  jail  of  course,  a  church,  a  pubhc  pound,  and 
about  thirty  grog-shops.  Hence  to  Bothwell,  the  way  lies  through 
mere  forest  and  wild  hills.  A  saddle-horse  was  not  to  be  had : 
so,  Smyth  was  obliged  to  hire  a  small  spring-cart,  with  a  man 
to  drive  it,  and  I  rode  alongside.  A  pleasant  journey  of  twenty 
miles  through  the  summer  woods ;  and  here  we  are  at  Nant 
Cottage. 

As  we  passed  through  the  township  of  Bothwell,  I  turned  aside 
from  our  direct  course  to  ask  for  letters  at  the  post  office.  Sm5^h, 
having  discharged  his  conveyance,   came  with  me  on   foot. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  303 

"  Where  is  this  formidable  police  office  ?  "  he  said.  "  Come  and 
see :  it  is  in  the  same  building  with  the  post  office."  As  we 
approached,  he  narrowly  reconnoitred  the  premises  ;  and  while  I 
asked  for  letters  at  the  window,  he  wedked  coolly  into  the  police 
office,  and  into  the  magistrate's  room,  surveyed  that  gentleman  a 
moment,  and  his  police  clerk  sitting  at  his  desk — then  crossed  the 
hall,  strolled  into  the  chief-constable's  office ;  made  reconnaissance 
of  its  exact  situation,  of  the  muskets  ranged  in  their  rack,  of  the 
hand-cuffs,  and  other  instruments  of  convict  coercion  hanging  on 
the  wall — then  came  out ;  observed  the  watch-house  opposite ; 
the  constables  lazily  walking  about  (one  of  them  civilly  holding 
my  horse) ;  the  police-barrack  on  a  little  hill  facing  us,  and  the 
other  features  in  the  scene  of  future  operations. 

"  I  think,"  he  said,  "  three  or  four  men,  or  at  most  half-a-dozen, 
with  Colt's  revolvers,  might  sack  the  township,  and  carry  off  the 
police  magistrate.  A  great  man  is  Mr.  Colt- — one  of  the  greatest 
minds  in  our  country." 

The  cottage  is  in  a  stir  to-day.  Smyth  had  been  intimately 
acquainted  with  us  in  Dublin,  and  also  with  John  Knox.  Since 
then,  he  has  been  roving  over  Ireland,  trying,  like  the  rest,  to 
kindle  an  insurrection  that  would  not  bum — then  escaping  by  a 
Galway  emigrant  ship,  in  the  guise  of  a  frieze-coated  peasant,  to 
America — making  off  life  by  precarious  methods  in  New  York — 
editing  a  newspaper  in  Pittsburg — agitating,  in  the  New  York 
Sun,  the  Nicaragua  railroad  question,  and  striving  to  rile  up  the 
American  mind  against  England  thereupon  ;  in  short,  discharging 
like  Reilly,  all  the  duties  and  functions  of  a  true  rebel  and  refugee. 
He  is  also,  from  of  old,  a  close  friend  of  Meagher,  and  gives  us  a 
pleasant  account  of  all  the  actings  and  sayings  of  that 
ex-prisoner  formerly  of  the  Dog's  Head,  Lake  Sorel,  but  now 
of  the  Metropolitan  Hotel,  Broadway ;  how  the  gobemouches 
worried  him  ;  how  the  old  Confederates  shed  tears  of  joy  over 
him ;  how  the  priests  scowled  upon  him ;  how  the  ladies 
smiled  upon  him  ;  all  which  one  can  very  well  imagine. 

Smyth  is  to  stay  with  us  two  or  three  days,  then  proceed  to 
other  parts  of  the  island,  to  consult  our  friends  and  make  needful 
arrangements. 

Already  I  begin  to  snuff  the  air  of  the  upper  world,  and  to 
see  daylight  through  the  opening  gates  of  Hades. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

January  i6lh,  1853 — Bothwell. — Smyth  (or,  as  we  prefer  to 
call  him,  Nicaragua,  from  his  Central  American  labours)  has  gone 
to  Melbourne,  to  negotiate  about  a  ship,  Hobart  Town  being  con- 
sidered more  dangerous,  as  well  as  offering  fewer  facilities.  I 
brought  him  up  by  Lake  Sorel,  thence  down  the  mountains  to 
the  great  northern  road.  We  expect  to  hear  how  the  mission 
speeds  there  within  a  month  or  six  weeks. 

John  Knox  agrees  to  avail  himself  of  this  chance  also,  seeing 
that  he  and  I  both  live  in  the  same  district,  and  have  one 
common  police  office  to  deal  with. 

I  If  the  thing  succeed,  I  must  leave  my  family  at  Nant  Cottage, 
to  follow  under  Nicaragua's  escort,  as  best  they  may,  to  San 
Francisco.  Yet  my  wife  does  not  shrink  from  all  this  risk  and 
inconvenience.  She  sees  all  the  terrible  evils  and  disadvantages 
of  rearing  up  a  family  in  such  a  country  as  this,  and  under  such 
circumstances  as  ours  ;  and  instead  of  dissuading,  urges  me 
strongly  on  the  enterprise.  Of  course  we  say  nothing  about 
our  intention  to  any  of  our  acquaintances  here  ;  as  success  must 
depend  entirely  upon  utter  secrecy,  until  the  moment  of  making 
our  formal  communication  to  the  authorities. 

Feb.  12th. — ^No  intelligence  yet  from  Melbourne.  A  good  horse 
being  essential  to  our  business,  in  addition  to  our  present  stock,  I 
have  been  on  the  look-out  for  one.  Mr.  Davis,  even  the  police 
magistrate  himself,  had  one  of  the  best  in  this  district — a  white 
horse,  half  Arab,  full  of  game,  and  of  great  endurance.  I  knew 
Mr.  Davis  had  offered  him  for  sale  ;  and  the  idea  pleased  me,  of 
buying  my  enemy's  horse  to  ride  off  upon  ;  which  would  have  the 
double  advantage  of  strengthening  me  and  of  weakening  the 
enemy.  Accordingly  I  secured  the  horse.  Mr.  Davis,  on  deUver- 
ing  him,  very  conscientiously  thought  it  his  duty  to  give  me  a 
warning.  "  I  must  tell  you,  Mr.  Mitchel,"  he  said,  "  that  if  you 
attempt  to  put  this  horse  into  harness  he  will  smash  everything 
— ^he  never  was  in  harness  but  once,  and  it  would  be  dangerous 

304 


Terence  Bellew  MacManus 


JAIL  JOURNAL  305 

to  try  it  again."  I  said,  I  was  aware  of  that  peculiarity  in  the 
horse.  "  It  is  right,"  he  continued,  "  to  mention  the  fact  to  you, 
as  I  do  not  know  the  precise  work  you  want  him  to  do."  "  Merely 
to  carry  me  on  his  back,  wherever  I  want  to  go^some  time  or 
other  probably  on  a  long  journey."  "  Well,"  said  Mr.  Davis,  "  1 
know  you  ride  a  good  deal ;  and  you  may  depend  upon  Donald 
for  that."  So  I  have  my  new  horse  out  at  Nant ;  and  intend 
to  give  him  regular  work  and  feed  him  well,  that  he  may  be  ready 
when  called  upon  for  this  long  journey. 

March  18th. — At  length  a  letter  from  the  indefatigable 
Nicaragua.  He  says  "  he  has  made  up  his  party  for  the  diggings, 
and  that  all  goes  well  with  him  " — ^by  which  I  understand  he  has 
succeeded  in  procuring  a  ship.  Further  he  says,  "  that  he  is  to 
meet  the  rest  of  his  party  of  diggers  at  the  Bendigo  Creek  " 
(which  is  at  present  the  favourite  gold  region),  "  three 
days  hence  "  ;  which  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  a  notice 
that  he  will  meet  John  Knox  and  me  at  Lake  Sorel  on  the 
day  specified. 

25th. — ^We  rode  up  to  the  lakes  on  the  appointed  day,  met 
Nicaragua,  accompanied  by  John  Connell,  of  the  excellent  family 
of  the  Sugar-loaf.  All  is  .right.  The  brigantine,  Waterlily, 
owned  by  John  Macnamara,  of  Sydney,  is  to  come  into  Hobart 
Town  ;  clear  thence  for  New  Zealand,  then  coast  round  to  Spring 
Bay,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island,  about  seventy  miles  from 
Bothwell,  and  lie  there  two  daj^,  under  pretence  of  taking  in 
timber.  At  Spring  Bay  there  is,  of  course,  a  police  station  ;  but 
it  never  has  more  than  three  or  four  constables  ;  and  we  are  to 
count  upon  disposing  of  them  by  bribery  or  otherwise.  Mr. 
Macnamara,  the  owner,  comes  himself  with  the  ship,  and  will  go 
round  in  her  to  Spring  Bay  to  see  us  safely  off.  Nicaragua  takes 
Fleur-de-lis,  and  rides  down  to  Hobart  Town  to-morrow. 

April  gth. — All  is  ready.  The  Waterlily  sails  from  Hobart 
Town  to-morrow,  and  will  be  in  Spring  Bay  on  Sunday  night,  at 
anchor,  with  Mr.  Macnamara's  flag  (a  red  cross  with  the  letter  M 
in  one  comer).  Knox  and  I,  who  are  entirely  passive,  and  do 
what  Smyth  bids  us,  are  to  present  ourselves  on  Monday,  in  the 
police  office,  withdraw  our  parole,  and  offer  ourselves  to  be  taken 
into  custody.  Nicaragua  brings  with  him  five  friends,  all  armed, 
as  good  lookers-on.  If  we  escape  the  clutches  of  the  Bothwell 
29 


3o6  JAIL  JOURNAL 

police,  we  are  to  ride  straight  to  Spring  Bay,  a  relay  of  horses 
being  provided  for  us  at  half  the  distance,  arrive  there  during 
the  night,  and  be  ready  to  embark  at  dawn.  Then,  up  anchoi, 
and  away  for  the  Golden  Gate.  If  the  poHce  boat  at  Spring 
Bay  attempt  to  board,  the  captain  engages  to  run  her  down, 
or  sink  her  if  needful. 

Monday  evenings— Bothwell. — At  Bothwell  still.  Our  plot  blown 
to  the  moon  I  Yesterday  we  were  informed,  through  a  friendly 
resident  at  Bothwell,  that  Nicaragua's  whole  plan  has  been  inti- 
mately known  to  the  governor  for  a  fortnight- — that  the  ship  we 
were  to  embark  in  was  known — the  place  where  we  were  to 
embark' — the  signal  we  were  to  use — the  friends  who  were  to 
accompany  us — that  the  Waterlily  was  purposely  allowed  to 
clear  out  at  Hobart  Town,  without  examination,  for  New  Zea- 
land ;  and  finally,  that  a  reinforcement  of  constables  had  been 
sent  up  from  Hobart  Town  to  Bothwell,  together  with  two 
additional  chiefs  of  police,  to  be  in  readiness  for  any  move  on 
our  peirt.  This  morning  I  discovered  that  two  armed  constables 
had  kept  watch  all  night  on  the  hill  behind  the  cottage. 

Council  of  war  at  Nant  to-day.  We  had  not,  of  course,  cal- 
culated on  having  to  deal  with  more  than  the  ordinary  force  of 
constabulary  stationed  in  Bothwell  district ;  the  attempt  had 
always  been  regarded  as  contingent  on  our  intention  remaining  a 
profound  secret  till  the  last  moment.  And  certainly  the  police 
magistrate  having  charge  of  the  district,  and  having  at  his  com- 
mand a  force  purporting  to  be  sufficient  for  all  police  purposes 
within  that  district,  for  the  coercion,  if  needful,  of  all  the 
prisoners  in  it — had  no  right  to  such  odds  against  us.  If  we 
should  go  in,  and  attempt  to  do  our  business  in  the  mode  in- 
tended, there  would  be,  in  the  first  place,  a  conflict  in  Bothwell 
street ;  and  if  we  succeeded  at  Bothwell,  against  all  odds,  there 
would,  doubtless,  be  another  force  at  Spring  Bay,  where  the  , 
vessel  itself  might  be  zdready  in  the  hands  of  the  poUce. 

If  we  thought  proper,  indeed,  to  dispense  with  the  formal  busi- 
ness before  the  magistrate,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  our 
riding  away  from  Nant  this  day  (or  any  other  day),  notwith- 
standing the  vigilance  of  the  constable  patrol ;  and  the  Govern- 
ment, in  that  case,  would  certainly  never  hear  of  us  again  ;  for, 
with  good  hprses;  and  all  the  population  at  our  side,  we  might 


JAIL  JOURNAL  307 

remain  a  year  in  the  island  in  their  despite,  until  another  ship 
could  take  us  up  at  the  same  point.  But  neither  Martin  nor  I 
admitted  this  idea  for  one  moment. 

Council  of  war,  therefore,  decided  that  the  enterprise  could  not 
be  attempted  this  day,  or  by  the  help  of  the  Waterlily.    Our 

friends  dispersed  ;  O'K northward,  R and  C south. 

Smyth  *and  Connell  have  started  for  Spring  Bay  to  send  the 
ship  off ;   and  all  is  over  for  the  present. 

But  Nicaragua  and  I  are  determined  to  have  another  trial 
for  it. 

April  12th. — Note  from  John  Connell.  Nicaragua  has  been 
arrested.  He  foimd  a  large  force  of  constables  waiting  for  him 
at  Spring  Bay ;  they  surroimded  the  hotel  the  moment  he  had 
dismoimted,  and  took  him  into  custody  as  John  Mitchel. 
Connell  had  parted  from  him,  before  reaching  Spring  Bay,  and 
had,  fortunately,  carried  off  his  papers.  In  vain  Nicaragua  pro- 
tested he  was  not  John  Mitchel :  he  was  thrust  into  the  watch- 
house,  and  kept  there  all  night.  From  the  windows  he  saw  the 
little  Waterlily  in  the  bay,  with  the  signal  at  her  mast-head ; 
she  was  waiting  for  us  still.  He  was  thence  carried  in  custody, 
through  the  forest,  to  Hobart  Town,  and  lodged  in  the  police 
offices  on  his  journey.  The  chief  constable  of  Richmond  knew 
me  by  sight :  he  volunteered  his  evidence  that  they  had  the 
wrong  man  ;  but  the  magistrate  of  Richmond  would  not  hear  his 
testimony,  would  not  interfere  in  any  manner  with  the  execution 
of  the  warrant,  and  so,  poor  Nicaragua  was  passed  on.  One  night 
he  travelled  all  night,  in  an  open  spring-waggon,  and  the  weather 
is  becoming  very  cold ;  so  that,  by  the  time  he  arrived  in 
Hobart  Town,  as  well  as  from  excitement  and  disappointment  as 
from  hardship,  he  was  in  a  high  fever.  After  being  kept  some 
hours  in  custody  at  Hobart  Town,  he  was  discharged  without  a 
word  of  apology  or  explanation,  save  that  it  was  all  a  mistake. 
He  now  lies  extremely  ill  in  the  house  of  a  worthy  friend 
of  ours. 

i^th — Hobart  Town. — I  rode  down,  yesterday,  to  see  how  it 
fared  with  Nicaragua  :  found  him  ill  enough,  but  convalescent.  I 
went  straight  to  the  poUce  office  ;  saw  the  gentleman  who  officiates 
as  police  clerk  ;  told  him  I  imderstood  there  was  a  warrant  against 
nie--if  so,  here  I  was ;  that  I  widerstogd  a  gentleman  had  been 


3o8  JAIL  JOURNAL 

arrested  in  my  name  ;  that  I  wanted  to  know  who  had  issued  this 
Warrant,  and  for  what  reason  ;  and  that  I  requested  him  to  go  and 
inform  the  police  magistrate  I  was  here.  He  said  it  was  all  a 
mistake  ;  and  treated  it  as  a  good  joke.  However,  I  told  him  I 
could  not  see  the  jocoseness  of  it — and  neither  could  Mr.  Smyth — 
that  I  conceived  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Sm5^h  for  me,  at  Spring  Bay, 
was  not  only  an  outrage  upon  him,  but  upon  me  still  more — that 
they  were  all  aware  I  had  promised  not  to  leave  the  island  with- 
out first  giving  the  proper  authorities  the  opportunity  of  arresting 
me  ;  but  this  proceeding  assumed  that  I  was  making  my  escape 
clandestinely,  and  therefore  disgracefully.  Mr.  Midwood  said,  if 
I  would  be  good  enough  to  sit  down  he  would  go  and  tell  the 
police  magistrate  I  was  here,  and  what  I  had  said.  In  a  few 
minutes  he  came  back,  accompanied  by  two  other  well-dressed 
men,  whom  he  introduced  to  me  by  names  which  I  forget.  I 
asked  who  they  were — "  Chief  Constables  of  Hobart  Town." — 
"  And  you  have  come  to  take  a  look  at  me  ?  "  Chief  Constables 
bowed. 

I  came  back  to  Nicaragua's  bedside  almost  exasperated.  He 
agrees  with  me,  that  the  setting  a  watch  upon  my  house,  and  the 
issuing  of  a  warrant  to  apprehend  me  in  the  act  of  "  absconding," 
are  most  insulting  proceedings,  especially  as  the  rascals  must  know 
that  neither  these  precautions  nor  any  other  precautions  could 
have  retained  me  on  the  island  for  the  last  three  years,  nor  for 
one  week,  if  I  had  thought  fit  to  abscond.  He  also  is  grievously 
outraged  on  his  own  account ;  and  we  have  therefore  resolved, 
so  soon  as  he  is  sufficiently  recovered,  that  we  two  alone  will  pay 
our  formal  visit  to  Mr.  Davis's  office  (with  revolvers  in  our 
pockets) — and,  if  necessary,  take  our  chance  for  a  ship 
afterwards. 

June  6th. — Nearly  two  months  have  gone  by  since  the  arrest  of 
Nicaragua.  He  recovered  his  health  and  strength  slowly.  He  is 
at  present  with  us  in  Nant  Cottage  ;  and  the  day  after  to-morrow 
we  shall  probably  proceed  to  business.  A  ship  bound  for  Sydney 
is  to  sail  on  that  night  from  Hobart  Town  ;  and  if  we  can  reach 
Hobart  Town  after  dark,  the  agents  of  the  ship,  who  are  friendly 
to  me,  will  place  me  on  board  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  after  all 
clearances  by  police  and  custom-house  authorities.  Nicaragua 
has  been  judiciously  bribing  so  far  as  was  prudent ;  but  with  all 


JAIL  JOURNAL  309 

he  can  do  in  this  way,  the  odds  against  us  will  be  heavy  at  all  times 
in  the  pohce  office.  John  Knox  has  decided  on  keeping  out  of 
the  affair  this  time ;  because,  if  we  miss  the  vessel  at  Hobart 
Town,  we  might  then  have  to  spend  several  weeks  on  the 
island ;  and  be  subjected  to  much  hardship  (for  it  is  now  the 
depth  of  winter),  and  assume  various  disguises — for  which  he 
is  not  well  adapted. 

8th. — ^The  town  is  full  of  police  to-day — ^we  put  the  business  off 
till  to-morrow.  In  the  meantime  I  send  James  down  to  Hobart 
Town  to  ask  the  agents  if  they  could  delay  the  ship  for  a  few 
hours  longer.  Whatever  be  the  answer,  however,  we  mean  to  see 
the  affair  out  to-morrow.  By  the  prudent  employment  of  some 
money,  Nicaragua  has  made  sure  that  there  will  not  be  mere  than 
the  ordinary  guard  of  constables  present.  We  would  bribe  them 
all,  if  we  dared  trust  the  rascals.  As  matters  stand,  we  are  cer- 
tain to  meet  not  only  the  police  magistrate  himself,  but  also  the 
police  clerk,  a  respectable  man,  not  purchasable  by  money,  and 
at  least  two  constables,  neither  of  whom  has  been  bribed,  and 
both  of  whom  will,  probably,  under  the  eye  of  the  magistrate, 
attempt  to  do  their  "  duty." 

12th. — In  Westbury  district,  full  seventy  miles  from  Bothwell. 
On  the  9th,  as  we  had  resolved  before,  Nicaragua  and  I  mounted 
at  Nant  Cottage — he  on  Donald,  I  on  Fleur-de-lis.  The  eldest  of 
the  boys  walked  through  the  fields  into  Bothwell,  that  he  might 
be  ready  at  the  police  office  door  to  hold  our  horses.  Before  we 
had  ridden  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  house,  we  met  James  (boy 
number  two),  coming  at  a  gallop  from  Hobart  Town.  He  handed 
me  a  note  from  the  shipping  agents.  Ship  gone ;  it  was 
impossible  to  detain  her  any  longer  without  exciting  suspicion ; 
and  the  shipping  agent  conjured  me  to  give  the  thing  up  or 
defer  it. 

As  we  now  stood,  therefore,  there  was  no  arrangement  for 
escaping  out  of  the  island  at  all ;  and  if  we  got  clear  out  of  the 
police  office,  it  was  a  matter  of  indifference  to  me  whether  I 
should  ride  north,  south,  or  east.  Westward  lay  impassable 
wilderness. 

We  overtook  Mr.  Russell  of  Dennistoun,  on  our  way  into  Both- 
well.  He  asked  me,  with  some  interest,  what  prices  I  had  got 
for  certain  grass-fed  wethers  which  I  had  sold  a  few  days  before-— 


310  Jail  journal 

also,  whether  I  mfeant  to  put  any  of  my  land  in  crop  for  thd 
ensuing  season — to  all  which  I  replied  with  much  agricultural 
sagacity  and  pastoral  experience.  All  the  while  I  saw  John 
Knox,  and  the  boy  number  one,  hurrying  along  near  the  river 
bank,  that  they  might  be  in  the  township  as  soon  as  I. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  village  Mr.  Russell  parted  company  with 
us,  and  called  at  a  house.  Nicaragua  and  I  rode  leisurely  down 
the  main  street.  At  the  police-barrack,  on  the  little  hill,  we 
saw  eight  or  nine  constables,  all  armed,  and  undergoing  a 
sort  of  drill.  At  the  poUce-office  door  there  was,  as  usual,  a 
constable  on  guard.  Mr.  Barr,  a  worthy  Scotch  gentleman, 
and  magistrate  of  the  district,  was  standing  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  gate. 

We  dismounted.  I  walked  in  first,  through  the  little  gate  lead- 
ing into  the  court,  through  the  door,  which  opened  into  a  hall  or 
passage,  and  thence  into  the  court-room,  where  I  found  his  wor- 
ship sitting  as  usual.  Near  him  sat  Mr.  Robinson,  the  police 
clerk.  "  Mr.  Davis,"  I  said,  "  here  is  a  copy  of  a  note  which  I 
have  just  despatched  to  the  governor  ;  I  have  thought  it  neces- 
sary to  give  you  a  copy."    The  note  was  as  follows  : — 

Bothwell,  8th  June,  1853. 
To  THE  L:eut.-Gov.,  etc. — 

Sir, — I  hereby  resign  the  "  ticket-of -leave,"  and  withdraw  my  parole. 
I  shall  forthwith  present  myself  before  the  police  magistrate  of  Bothwell, 
at  his  office,  show  him  a  copy  of  this  note,  and  oflEer  myself  to  be  taken 
into  custody. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

John  Mitchel, 

Mr.  Davis  took  the  note  ;  it  was  open.  "  Do  you  wish  me,"  he 
said,  "  to  read  it  ?  "  "  Certainly ;  it  was  for  that  I  brought  it." 
He  glanced  over  the  note,  and  then  looked  at  me.  That  instant 
Nicaragua  came  in  and  planted  himself  at  my  side.  His  worship 
and  his  clerk  both  seemed  somewhat  discomposed  at  this  ;  for 
they  knew  the  "  Correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune  "  very 
well,  as  also  his  errand  from  New  York.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
Mr.  Davis  thought  I  had  a  crowd  outside.  There  is  no  other  way 
of  accoimting  for  his  irresolution. 

Then  I  said,  "  You  see  the  purport  of  that  note,  sir ;  it  is 
short  and  plain.     It  resigns  the  tiling  called  '  ticket-of-leave,' 


JAIL  fOURNAl  sit 

atid  teVokes  my  promise  which  bomid  me  so  long  as  I  held 
that  thing." 

Still  he  made  no  move,  and  gave  no  order.  So  I  repeated  my 
explanation  :  "  You  observe,  sir,  that  my  parole  is  at  an  end  from 
this  moment ;  and  I  came  here  to  be  taken  into  custody  pursuant 
to  that  note." 

All  this  while  there  was  a  constable  in  the  adjoining  room, 
besides  the  police  clerk,  and  the  guard  at  the  door ;  yet  still  his 
worship  made  no  move.  "Now,  good  morning,  sir,"  I  said, 
putting  on  my  hat.  The  hand  of  Nicaragua  was  playing  with 
the  handle  of  the  revolver  in  his  coat.  I  had  a  ponderous  riding- 
whip  in  my  hand,  besides  pistols  in  my  breast-pocket.  The 
moment  I  said  "  Good  morning,"  Mr.  Davis  shouted,  "  No — ^no  ! 
stay  here  !  Rainsford  !  Constables  !  "  The  poUce  clerk  sat  at 
his  desk,  looking  into  vacancy.  We  walked  out  together  through 
the  hall ;  the  constable  in  the  district  constable's  office,  who 
generally  acts  as  his  clerk,  now  ran  out,  and  on  being  desired  to 
stop  us,  followed  us  through  the  court,  and  out  into  the  street, 
but  without  coming  very  near.  At  the  little  gate  leading  out 
of  the  court  into  the  street,  we  expected  to  find  the  man  on  guard 
on  the  alert  between  us  and  our  horses.  But  this  poor  constable, 
though  he  heard  the  magistrate's  orders,  and  the  commotion,  did 
not  move.  He  was  holding  two  horses,  one  with  each  hand,  and 
looked  on  in  amazement,  while  we  passed  him,  and  jumped  into 
our  saddles. 

We  concluded  that  we  had  done  enough,  and  that  there  was 
no  reason  to  wait  any  longer  ;  therefore 

We  gave  the  bridle-rein  a  shake  ; 
Said,  Adieu  for  evermore,  my  dear  ; 
And  adieu  for  evermore  1 

Mr.  Davis  and  two  constables  rushing  against  one  another,  with 
bare  heads  and  loud  outcries — grinning  residents  of  Bothwell 
on  the  pathway,  who  knew  the  meaning  of  the  performance  in  a 
moment,  and  who,  being  commanded  to  stop  us  in  the  Queen's 
name,  aggravated  the  grin  into  a  laugh ;  some  small  boys  at  a 
comer,  staring  at  our  horses  as  they  galloped  by,  and  offering 
"  three  to  one  on  the  white  un  "—this  is  my  last  impression  of 
Bothwell  on  the  banks  of  the  Tasmanian  Clyde. 

We  crossed  the  river  just  below  the  town,  and  held  on  at  full 


3l2  JAJi-  fOVRNAL 

Speed  for  a  mile  to  the  south-westward  ;  thieh,  finding  ourselves 
feiirly  in  the  forest,  we  pulled  up,  exchanged  horses  and  coats, 
and  parted — Nicaragua,  on  Fleur-de-lis,  rode  due  north  for  Nant 
Cottage,  intending  to  call  there  a  moment,  and  then  go  to  Oat- 
lands,  to  take  the  coach  for  Launceston.  I  rode  on  about  half 
a  mile  further  into  the  woods,  and  found,  according  to  appoint- 
ment, my  good  friend  J H ,  son  of  a  worthy  English 

settler  of  those  parts,  an  experienced  bushman,  who  knows  every 
nook  in  the  island,  and  "  every  bosky  bourne  from  side  to  side," 
and  who  had  undertaken  to  guide  me  by  shortest  and  obscurest 
paths  to  any  point  I  desired.  Brief  was  our  consultation ; 
the  Hobart  Town  ship  having  sailed,  all  parts  of  the  island  were 
alike  to  me ;  and  in  all  was  I  sure  to  find  friends.  We  deter- 
mined to  strike  northwards,  and  over  the  mountains  to  this 
district  of  Westbury,  which  is  chiefi}^  inhabited  by  Irish  immi- 
grants, and  where  we  should  be  within  a  day's  ride  of  Bass's 
Straits.  Where  we  stood  then,  we  were  a  hundred  and  thirty 
miles  from  the  sea  in  that  direction  ;  but  our  horses  were  fresh. 

H laughed  at  the  idea  of  pursuit ;   and  I,  with  the  load  of 

that  foul  ticket-of-leave  fairly  shaken  off,  and  my  engagement 
discharged,  felt  my  pulse  begin  to  beat  again  with  something  hke 
life.  To  be  sure,  I  must  yet  be  some  weeks  in  the  country 
before  Nicaragua  could  get  a  ship  and  bring  it  round  for  me. 
Nicaragua  himself  might  be  arrested ;  and,  at  anyrate,  he  does 
not  yet  know  what  direction  I  have  taken.  Also  the  Govern- 
ment would  be  sure  to  send  special  despatches  all  round  the 
coast,  to  put  their  police  on  the  alert  to  guard  every  landing 
place,  and  watch  every  boat ;  yet  I  was  quite  secure.  Having 
once  shaken  the  Bothwell  dust  off  my  feet,  and  resolved  not  to 
be  retaken  ahve,  I  felt  myself  already  a  free  man. 

It  was  almost  mid-winter.    The  weather  was  bright  ar<J  clear  ; 
no  snow  on  the  ground,  but  keen  frosts  at  night ;  on  the  whole, 

favourable  for  hard  riding.     H immediately  took  me  out  of 

all  ordinary  tracks,  and  we  pltmged  into  the  wilderness  of  rocky 
wooded  hills,  westward  of  Bothwell,  where  I  had  sometimes 
hunted  kangaroo.  After  ten  miles'  hard  riding,  we  came  to  the 
track  leading  from  Bothwell  to  the  Shannon  river — crossed  this 
track  after  reconnoitring  the  road  a  moment,  and  then  pierced 
once  more  into  still  wilder  and  more  desolate  hills.    For  about 


JAIL  JOURNAL  313 

two  miles  we  rode  along  the  ridge  that  bounds  the  Shannon 
valley,  and,  for  the  last  time,  I  saw  the  gleam  and  heard  the 
dashing  of  that  bright  river — ^then,  turned  north-east,  continually 
ascending  in  the  direction  of  Lake  Sorel.  High  among  the 
mountains,  we  had  to  plunge  for  three  miles  through  the  dreary 
"  Soldier's  Marsh  "  (so  named  from  two  soldiers  killed  there  of 
old  by  the  bushrangers).  The  marsh  was  frozen  over,  so  that  our 
horses'  feet  did  not  always  break  the  ice,  but  occasionally  slipped 
over  it — a  progress  both  perilous  and  slow  ;  and  after  thirty-five 
miles'  travelling  we  found  the  night  darkening  round  us,  and 
Lake  Sorel  not  yet  gained.  At  last  we  heard  the  barking  of  the 
stock-keeper's  dogs  at  "  Kemp's  Hut," — avoided  it  by  keeping 
to  the  left ;  and  held  on  our  way  for  six  miles  farther  along  the 
the  western  shore  of  the  Lake. 

It  was  dark  as  Erebus ;  and  we  had  still  to  go  through  the 
most  difficult  part  of  the  journey  to  the  lake-river,  where  we  pro- 
posed to  spend  the  night  at  the  hut  of  Mr.  Russell's  shepherd. 
There  was  a  high,  steep,  and  rocky  mountain  to  descend,  whore 

even  in  dayhght  the  track  is  not  easy  to  find  ;  and  H thought 

it  prudent  to  call  at  a  hut  on  the  shore,  to  procure  a  guide. 
There  were  three  men  in  the  hut,  the  first  human  beings  we  had 

seen  since  we  left  Bothwell.    They  told  H it  would  be 

dangerous  to  attempt  the  descent  on  so  dark  a  night ;  and,  with 
the  customary  shepherd  hospitality  of  those  Arcadian  swains, 
invited  us  to  share  their  fire  and  opossum-rugs.  But  we  were 
too  near  Bothwell  yet  for  this.  So  we  got  one  of  them  out  to 
show  us  the  best  way  to  the  "  saddle  " — that  is,  the  watershed 
between  Lake  Sorel  and  the  lake-river,  from  whence  we  thought 
we  could  make  our  own  way. 

The  guide  lost  himself,  and  of  course  lost  us.  Told  us  that, 
after  all,  we  had  better  come  back,  and  that,  at  an5n:ate,  he  would 
go  back  himself.  We  thanked  and  paid  him  for  his  services,  and 
then  tried  to  feel  our  way  over  the  edge  of  the  mountain.  We 
found  om-selves  evidently  descending,  yet  certainly  off  the  track, 
and  on  very  rough  ground,  where  to  dismoimt  and  lead  the 
horses  was  an  absolute  necessity.  Presently,  we  came  amongst 
precipices  and  fields  of  loose  rock,  a  mere  wilderness  of  shattered 
stone,  but  still  thickly  wooded ;  for  this  gum  tree  seems  to  live 
by  breathing  through  its  leaves  instead  of  drawing  nourishment 


314  JAtL  JOURNAL 

from  the  soil.  Th6  horses  began  to  stumble  against  US  in  the 
darkness,  striking  us  now  with  their  forefeet,  and  again  knocking 
us  down  with  their  heads.  It  was  midnight ;  the  frost  was 
intense  ;  we  had  no  overcoats  or  other  muffling ;  neither  our- 
selves nor  our  horses  had  eaten  anything  since  breakfast ;  there 
was  no  herbage,  and  the  horses  were  starving  ;  no  water  near  us, 
and  we  were  devoured  by  thirst.  Yet  we  heard  far  below  us, 
through  the  still  night,  the  rush  of  the  Lake-river,  and  now  and 
then  the  barking  of  old  Job's  dogs. 

Neither  backwards  nor  forwards  could  we  move  one  yard :  and 
there,  within  three  miles  of  our  proposed  shelter  for  the  night,  we 
were  forced  to  make  our  dismal  bivouac.  We  lighted  a  fire  with 
some  dead  branches  (for  no  true  bushman  goes  without  matches) ; 
tied  our  poor  horses  to  a  honeysuckle  tree  ;  looked  to  our  pistols  ; 
picked  the  least  polygonal  stones  to  sit  down  upon  ;  lighted  our 
pipes,  and  prepared  to  spend  eight  hours  as  jovially  as  possible. 
Soon  sleep  overtook  us,  from  utter  exhaustion,  and  we  would  lie 
a  few  minutes  on  the  sharp  stones  by  the  fire  until  awakened  by 
the  scorching  of  our  knees,  while  our  spinal  marrow  was  frozen 
into  a  soUd  icicle.  Then  we  would  turn  our  backs  to  the  fire,  and 
sleep  again ;  but,  in  five  minutes,  our  knees  and  toes  were  frozen ; 
our  moustaches  stiff  with  ice,  our  spinal  marrow  dissolving  in 
the  heat.    Then  up  again — another  smoke,  another  talk. 

The  dawn  reddened  at  last ;  and  the  moimtains  beyond  Arthur's 
Lakes  to  the  west  glowed  purple.  We  expected  to  find  the  horses 
stiffened  and  half  dead ;  for  they  were  both  accustomed  to  be 
stabled  and  bedded  at  night ;  and  this  was  the  mcst  savage  night 
I  had  ever  experienced  in  the  country.  But  well-bred  Van  Die- 
men's  Land  horses  have  great  life  and  unconquerable  pluck  ;  they 
were  fresh  as  the  dawn.  We  soon  found  the  track,  and  in  half 
an  hour  rode  up  to  old  Job's  door.  It  happens  that  Job's  house 
was  the  first  place  Meagher  had  stopped  at  for  rest  and  refresh- 
ment, a  year  and  a  half  ago,  on  his  ride  from  Lake  Sorel ;  and  the 
moment  Job  saw  me,  he  knew  what  business  was  in  hand.  He 
received  us  joyfully,  bade  his  wife  prepare  breakfast,  and  we  went 
with  him  into  the  stable,  to  get  our  horses  fed.  Then  breakfast 
before  a  roaring  fire.  Meagher,  it  seems,  had  shaved  off  his  mous- 
tache here  for  the  better  disguise ;  so,  after  breakfast,  Job  pre- 
sented me  with  a  razor,  looking  glass,  basin,  and  soap,  wherewith 


JAIL  JOURNAL  315 

I  made  a  complete  transfiguration  of  myself.  I  wrote  a  short  note 
to  my  wife,  to  tell  her  which  way  I  had  taken,  and  without  the 
least  hesitation  entrusted  it  to  Job  Sims,  who  was  to  go  over  to 
Bothwell  the  next  day  with  some  cattle  for  Mr.  Russell,  and  who 
imdertook  to  deliver  the  note  personally  at  Nant.  This  man  is 
an  Englishman,  and  has  been  an  old  prisoner ;  yet  I  know  he 
would  not  sell  that  note  to  the  enemy  for  a  thousand  pounds. 
Mounted  after  three-quarters  of  an  hour's  delay ;  and  Job  rode 
with  us  two  miles,  to  show  us  the  ford  of  the  Lake-river.    After 

that  H and  I  held  on  over  a  rough  mountain,  but  with  a 

pretty  well-defined  track.  We  intended  to  make  first  for  the 
house  of  a  Mr.  Grover,*  whose  son,  a  well-affected  Tasmanian 
native,  was  known  to  be  ready  to  aid  me  in  any  such  affair. 
Neither  of  us  had  ever  seen  this  young  Grover ;  his  father  is  a 
magistrate  of  the  colony ;  but  we  had  no  hesitation  about  going 
stright  up  to  the  house. 

As  we  slowly  descended  the  narrow  track,  at  a  sudden  turn 
among  the  trees,  we  encountered  two  gentlemen,  riding  up  the 
mountain.  We  exchanged  salutations  and  passed,  when  H — — 
said  to  me,  "  I  never  saw  Charles  Grover,  but  I  am  almost  sure 
the  elder  of  those  two  is  he."  The  "  natives  "  of  this  island 
generally  know  one  another  by  some  sort  of  freemasonry — a  cir- 
cumstance which  I  had  not  at  that  moment  time  to  investigate 
and  trace  philosophically.     "  We  must  not  let  him  pass,"  said 

H .    "  Then  coo-ee  to  him."    H sung  out  the  coo-ee 

loud  and  clear ;  and  in  a  minute  the  two  gentlemen  were  seen 
riding  back  to  meet  us.    "  You  are  Mr.  Charles  Grover,"  said 

H .    "Yes."     "This  is  Mr.  Mitchel."    He  asked  two  or 

three  eager  questions ;  found  out  in  a  moment  how  the  case 
stood  ;  asked  if  our  horses  were  fresh,  and  where  we  intended  to 
stop  that  night.  The  horses  were  tired  ;  we  were  making  for 
Mr.  Wood's-f  place  in  Westbury.  Our  new  friend  instantly 
turned  with  me  ;   gave  up  the  business,  whatever  it  was,  that 

urged  him  to  his  journey ;  told  H he  might  go  back  to 

Bothwell,  and  leave  me  with  'Mm  ;  made  his  companion  give  up 
his  horse  to  me,  and  mount  Donald,  with  directions  to  take  him 
to  his  (Grover' s)  father's  house,  to  be  cared  for  after  the  journey ; 
and  then  started  off  with  me,  to  bring  me  by  the  most  secret 
*  Grover  is  not  the  gentleman's  real  name,     f  Wood  is  also  a  fictitious  name. 


3i6  JAIL  JOURNAL 

road  to  Mr.  Wood's.  "  I  am  glad  I  met  you,"  he  said,  "  because 
it  will  save  you  the  necessity  of  calling  at  my  father's  house ; 
the  governor,  you  know,  is  a  magistrate  ;  and  it  is  as  well  not  to 
nm  risks." 

Most  gratefully  and  affectioiiately  I  parted  from  H ,  who 

turned,  intending  to  go  back  for  that  night  to  Job's ;  and  next 
day,  by  a  circuitous  route,  to  Bothwell.  For  me,  I  committed 
myself,  without  a  moment's  thought,  to  the  care  of  my  new 
acquaintance.  We  rode  on  merrily,  got  out  of  the  mountain 
region,  and  skirted  along  the  base  of  the  great  Western  Tier,  at 
its  north^n  side.  Before  dusk  we  rode  into  the  yard  of  a  large 
and  handsome  house,  where  a  tall  gentleman  came  to  meet  us. 
It  was  Mr.  Wood.  "  Here  is  our  friend,"  said  Grover  (I  had  never 
seen  Wood  before),  "  Mr.  Mitchel."  "  Ah  !  "  he  said,  quietly,  "  I 
have  been  expecting  you  here  these  two  months."  Last  night  I 
spent  with  this  gentleman  and  his  amiable  family.  But  as  there 
is  a  pohce  station  within  a  himdred  yards  of  his  gate,  and  as 
the  police  of  Westbury  were  certain  to  be  on  the  watch  all  over 
the  district,  from  this  day  or  to-morrow,  it  was  thought  best  to 
remove  me  this  morning  to  the  farm-house  of  a  fine  young 

Irishman,  named  B ,  six  miles  from  Mr.  Wood's,  and  here  I 

am  this  day,  awaiting  news  of  the  movements  of  Nicaragua  and 
Sir  WiUiam  Denison. 

June  izth. — Mr.  B.  and  his  wife  are  very  kind  to  me ;  keep 
me  in  great  privacy ;  seem  almost  proud  to  have  the  charge  of 
so  illustrious  a  patriot  (as  myself)  ;  and  assure  me  I  am  safe 
enough  here,  for  a  month  to  come.  However,  I  do  not  go  out, 
even  into  the  woods,  except  at  night,  and  never  without  loaded 
arms.     No  news  yet  of  Nicaragua. 

i6//?. — News  at  last  of  Nicaragua.  On  the  day  he  and  I 
parted  in  the  woods  near  Bothwell,  he  arrived  safely  at  Oatlands, 
but  was  hotly  pursued  ;  left  Fleur-de-lis,  a  well-known  mare  of 
mine,  in  the  stable  of  the  inn,  reeking  with  sweat ;  made  urgent 
inquiries  whether  he  could  have  a  horse  to  travel  eastward  to 
Spring  Bay — then,  at  night,  left  the  hotel,  through  the  garden  ; 
cUmbed  over  several  walls  at  the  back  of  tlie  houses  ;  came  round 
to  the  road  outside  the  village ;  waited  for  the  coach,  and 
travelled  northward  to  Launceston,  where  he  is  now,  duly 
shaved  and  disguised. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  317 

At  Bothwell  there  was  violent  excitement.  Seven  mounted 
police  were  instantly  despatched  thence,  to  scour  the  country  on 
all  sides  in  pursuit.  They  traced  Nicaragua  to  Oatlands  ;  found 
my  Fleur-de-Hs  in  the  stable ;  learned  that  the  gentleman  had 
asked  for  a  horse  to  carry  him  to  Spring  Bay ;  and,  accordingly, 
all  that  region  is  diligently  scoured,  and  videttes,  on  the  pro- 
montories of  the  coast,  are  exchanging  anxious  signals. 

I  find,  also,  that  Mr.  Davis,  at  Bothwell,  charged  one  of  the 
constables  who  were  present  (an  Englishman),  with  faiUng  in  his 
duty,  by  not  securing  me,  when  ordered  ;  and,  further,  charged 
him  with  having  been  bribed.  He,  therefore,  dismissed  him  ; 
whereupon  the  man  got  drunk  on  the  spot,  and  spent  the  evening 
invoking  three  cheers  for  me.  It  is  not  true  that  this  poor  fellow 
was  bribed  :  but  I  wish  he  had  been  ;  for,  it  is  now  clear  he  was 
open  to  a  bribe,  wanted  a  bribe,  and  deserved  a  bribe. 

The  Westbury  police  are  patrolling  night  and  day,  for  my  sake  ; 
but  this  is  no  more  than  the  constables  of  all  other  districts  are 
doing ;  evidently,  all  trace  of  me  is  lost ;  and  the  government 
folk  have  no  reason  for  supposing  me  to  be  in  this  district,  rather 
than  any  other.  At  an5n-ate,  in  any  case,  whatever  may  befall 
me,  I  feel  absolutely  out  of  the  enemy's  power.  The  end  of 
the  enterprise  now,  must  be  America  or  a  grave. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

June  2oth,  1853 — Westbury,  V.  D.  L.- — I  have  been  now  a  week 
at  Burke's  farm-house,  and  in  the  closest  privacy.  Even  the  few 
friends  in  this  district,  who  know  of  my  whereabouts,  do  not  dare 

to  come  to  the  house  in  dayhght ;  but  the  staunch  O'K ,  on 

whose  own  house  a  strict  watch  is  kept  by  the  police,  contrived 
last  night  to  evade  their  vigilance,  leaving  home  in  the  afternoon, 
riding  first  in  some  other  direction,  and  then  making  a  circuit,  so 
as  to  come  down  upon  Burke's  after  midnight.  With  him  came 
a  Launceston  friend,  who  brought  me  a  note  from  Nicaragua 
Smith.  Nicaragua  is  now  in  Hobart  Town,  and  has  not  been 
molested,  although  it  is  well  known  that  he  was  with  me  at  the 
Bothwell  police  office  ;  but  as  no  violence  was  actually  done,  nor 
even  arms  exhibited,  there  is  nothing  to  endanger  him.  However, 
all  his  movements,  also,  are  under  strict  surveillance. 

He  assures  me,  in  his  note,  that  the  enemy  have  not  the 
shghtest  suspicion  of  my  having  come  to  this  part  of  the  island, 
and  the  impression  is  general  that  I  am  already  at  sea.  Bets  are 
pending  in  Hobart  Town  as  to  the  direction  I  took — as  to  my 
having  sailed,  or  not — and  if  so,  by  what  ship.  In  the  meantime, 
he  is  negotiating  about  a  brigantine,  the  Don  Juan,  one  of  Mr. 
Macnamara's  ships.  She  is  to  sail  shortly  from  Hobart  Town, 
bound  for  Melbourne ;  and  he  hopes  to  arrange  it  so  that  she 
will  call  on  the  north  side  of  the  island,  in  some  lonely  bay,  to 
take  me  up — I  to  make  my  way  to  the  rendezvous  as  I  best 
may. 

22nd. — Special  messenger  from  Nicaragua.  The  Don  Juan  is 
to  call  at  Emu  Bay,  five  days  hence ;  the  distance  is  about 
eighty  miles  from  my  retreat ;  but  there  are  four  rivers  to  cross, 
and  no  road,  no  bridges.  And  now.  fate  has  apparently  declared 
against  me  ;  for  within  the  last  two  days.  Emu  Bay  has  become 
totally  inaccessible  by  land.  The  winter  floods  have  begun.  It 
has  rained  furiously  in  the  mountains  ;  and  the  Forth,  Mersey,  and 
Don,  all  fordable  in  the  summer,  are  rushing  down  now,  in  raging 

3x8 


JAIL  JOURNAL  319 

torrents,  that  would  sweep  us  into  the  sea  if  we  were  mounted  on 
elephants.  Then,  if  we  go  down  to  the  sea-shore,  and  attempt  to 
pass  westward,  by  crossing  the  mouths  of  the  river  in  boats,  a 
difficulty  arises — there  are  generally  no  bos^ts  to  be  found  there, 
except  the  poUce  boats  ;  and  every  river  mouth  is  watched  by 
constables,  who  have  all  received  a  specied  warning  to  be  on  the 
look  out  for  a  man  thirty-five  years  of  age  or  so,  with  dark  hair, 
stature  five  feet  ten  inches,  etc.,  etc. 

What  is  to  be  done  ?  The  Don  Juan  will  certainly  call  in  at 
Emu  Bay,  and  wait  there  two  days.  My  Launceston  friend  de- 
vises a  plan.  He  has  hurried  off  to  Launceston,  to  employ  the 
captain  of  a  small  coasting  smack,  as  a  messenger  to  Emu  Bay, 
with  directions  for  the  Don  Juan  to  come  eastward  ageiin,  if  the 
weather  permit,  and  to  lie  off  and  on  at  a  sohtary  beach,  between 
West  Head  and  Badger  Head,*  a  httle  to  the  west  of  the  Tamar 
mouth.  To  that  place  I  can  go  without  crossing  any  river  ex- 
cept the  Meander.  The  plan  does  not  look  feasible,  because  the 
weather  has  grown  wild,  and  the  Don  Juan,  if  she  can  even  leave 
Emu  Bay,  and  coast  eastward,  may  find  it  impossible  to  lie  to, 
off  that  dangerous  coast.  It  is  determined,  however,  that  I  am 
to  try  the  chance. 

The  country  between  this  place  and  Port  Sorel  is  wild,  marshy, 
rocky,  and  desolate^ — all  the  better  for  our  purpose,  if  we  can  only 
cross  the  Westbury  road,  and  get  through  the  settled  country 
south  of  the  Meander,  without  exciting  suspicion.  Our  course  is 
to  be  due  north — the  distance  nearly  seventy  miles  ;  we  are  to 
set  forth  about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  if  possible,  to  reach  the 
sea  the  next  day. 

Latest  accounts  from  Bothwell  tell  me  that  all  is  well  at  Nant 
Cottage  ;  all  our  good  neighbours  of  Bothwell  are  delighted  at  my 
escape  (which  they  think  is  an  accomplished  fact  already),  and 
kindly  attentive  to  my  family.  My  wife,  however,  knows  that  I 
am  still  on  the  island,  and  every  morning  expects  to  hear  either  of 
embsirkation,  capture,  or  death.  If  I  should  even  have  the  good 
fortune  to  get  on  board  the  Don  Juan,  my  adventures  will  have 
only  begim.  For  she  goes  to  Melbourne.  At  Melbourne  there  is 
doubtless  a  warrant  against  me,  long  since  in  the  hands  of  the 
police,  with  description  of  eyes,  hair,  and  stature  ;  and,  since  the 
discovery  of  gold  mines  there,  careful  note  is  taken  by  the 


320  JAIL  JOURNAL 

authorities,  of  every  passenger  and  every  sailor  coming  from  Van 
Diemen's  Land.  Many  captures  are  made  every  week.  To  get 
into  Melbourne,  and  to  get  out  of  it  again,  will  be  about  equally 
perilous  ;  but  the  'i  work  of  the  hour  "  is  to  get  out  of  Van  Die- 
men's  Land. 

2^ih.- — We  start  to-night.  It  is  gloomy  winter  weather  ;  the 
country  having  been  first  thoroughly  drenched,  is  now  frozen  ; 
but  the  moon  is  out  and  on  duty.  I  am  to  have  a  considerable 
cavalcade  and  body-guard  :  the  two  Burkes,  Mr.  Wood,  and  his 

brother,  O'K ,  O'Mara,  brother-in-law  to  my  host,  and  Foley, 

a  powerful  Tipperary  man,  somewhere  between  six  and  seven 
feet  high.  If  we  meet  a  patrol  of  constables  either  on  the 
journey  or  at  the  coast,  the  meeting  will  not  serve  the  cause  of 
"  law  and  order." 

I  have  written  two  letters,  one  to  my  wife  at  Bothwell,  one  to 
my  mother  at  New  York — a  kind  of  provisional  adieu,  indeed — 
for  I  scarcely  hope  to  meet  with  this  Don  Juan  ;  and,  failing 
her,  I  shall  have  to  disperse  my  party,  and  retire  from  the  coast 
again  with  all  speed  and  secrecy.  Mr.  Wood,  in  that  case,  pro- 
poses to  send  me  to  a  very  remote  "  station  "  of  his,  among  the 
mountains  of  the  north-west,  to  spend  the  winter  there,  and 
let  all  thought  of  pursuit  die  out.  Meanwhile,  my  kind  hostess, 
Mrs.  Burke,  is  busied  in  preparations  for  our  departure,  and  in 
providing  what  is  needful  for  our  journey.  Amongst  other 
things,  the  good  creature  gets  some  lead  and  judiciously  casts 
bullets.  Her  husband  comes  with  us,  as  well  as  his  brother ; 
and  their  father  lends  me  a  good  horse. 

2bth — Port  Sorel,  Bass's  Straits. — We  are  here,  but  the  Don 
Juan  is  not.  The  night  before  last,  as  had  been  arranged,  about 
ten  o'clock,  after  taking  farewell  of  Mrs.  Burke  and  her  Uttle  boy 
(whose  principal  nurse  I  have  been  for  a  fortnight),  I  rode  away 

accompanied  by  the  two  Burkes,  O'K ,  O'Mara,  and  Foley. 

We  were  to  meet  the  Woods  on  the  Westbury  road,  at  a  given 
point.  It  was  cold,  but  clear,  and  the  moon  shone  brightly  on 
the  hoar  frost.  Having  been  joined  by  the  Woods,  we  rode  nearly 
due  north  ;  and  some  time  after  midnight  descended  through  some 
dark  and  winding  gullies  to  the  valley  of  the  Meander.  Just  on 
the  farther  bank,  and  in  a  very  solitary  place,  stood  the  house  of 
our  friend  O'K .    He  is  a  respectable  farmer,  an  intelligent, 


"WT^-'T-     ■ 


JAIL  JOURNAL  321 

well-informed  man,  who  emigrated  hither,  after  Lord  Hawarden's 

great  extermination  of  tenantry  in  Tipperary.    O'K was  one 

of  the  tenants  turned  out  upon  that  occasion  ;  and  saw  his  house 
pulled  down,  while  all  the  neighbours  on  the  adjoining  townlands 
were  warned  not  to  shelter  him,  or  any  member  of  his  family. 
Some  natural  tears  he  shed,  and  uttered  some  natural  impreca- 
tions ;  but  shot  neither  landlord,  nor  agent,  nor  sheriff's  officer 
— which  would  have  been  natural,  too.  With  the  help  of  some 
good  friends  he  found  means  to  emigrate  hither,  and  has  a  good 
farm,  far  from  Lord  Hawarden ;  but  still  hates  with  a  holy 
hatred  (as  in  reason  he  ought)  the  British  aristocracy  and  British 
Government.  Of  course  he  takes  an  interest  in  Irish  rebels,  and 
was  Meagher's  faithful  companion  and  guide  on  his  last  Tas- 
manian  excursion.    The  river  was  high  and  rapid  ;    the  banks 

were  steep  and  rough  ;  but  O'K knew  the  ground  and  led 

the  way ;  the  flood  dashed  up  to  our  horses'  shoulders  ;  but  in 
a  few  minutes  we  had  scaled  the  opposite  bank,  and  galloped 
up  to  O'K 's  door. 

Here  we  halted  to  sup  and  feed  our  horses.  The  family 
were  asleep :    but  ere  long,  a  roaring  fire  blazed,  beef-steaks 

hissed,  and  at  the  head  of  his  rough  but  kindly  board,  O'K 

welcomed  me  (he  hoped  for  the  last  time)  to  the  hospitaUties 
of  the  Tasmanian  bush. 

One  of  the  peculiarities  of  Westbury  district  is  that  you  find 
Irish  families,  and  whole  Irish  neighbourhoods,  associating 
together  and  seldom  meeting  foreigners :  for  even  the  assigned 
convict-servants  whom  these  people  select  are  all  Irish.  Thus 
they  preserve,  even  in  the  second  generation,  Irish  ways  and 
strong  Irish  accents ;  and  but  a  few  weeks  have  gone  by  since,  in 

this  very  house,  on  the  death  of  O'K 's  old  mother,  a  regular 

wake  was  held,  and  experienced  crones  raised  a  true  caoine 
over  the  corpse,  startling  the  cockatoos  with  their  wild  and  un- 
wonted ululu. 

The  two  Woods  are  native  Tasmanians,  of  EngUsh  stock,  and 
do  not  fully  understand  the  Tipperary  enthusiasm  and  Munster 

demonstrativeness  of  O'K and  his  wife.    They  are  men  of 

very  large  property,  bold  horsemen,  indefatigable  bushmen,  and 
seem  to  have  come  into  our  present  enterprise  for  the  sake  of  the 
excitement  as  well  as  from  a  sincere  regard  for  Irish  rebels.    They 

2Z 


322  JAIL  JOURNAL 

sat  smoking  and  looking  on  in  silence,  while  O'K narrated 

the  black  story  of  the  clearing  of  his  village  in  Tipperary. 

At  last,  it  was  time  to  mount  once  more.  The  moon  had  gone 
down  and  the  night  was  dark.  Seven  miles  farther  on  we  found 
ourselves  near  a  hut.  which  Mr.  Wood  recognised  as  the  stock-hut 
of  his  nephew,  young  Lilly.  He  said  the  owner  was  in  it,  and 
insisted  that  we  should  all  dismount,  knock  him  up,  and  demand 
some  tea.  I  objected,  supposing  that  there  might  be  other 
strangers  in  the  house,  and  it  was  not  expedient  (seeing  I  was 
almost  certain  we  should  miss  the  Don  Juan)  that  my  journey 
in  this  direction  should  come  to  be  known.  In  vain  I  objected. 
Wood  only  laughed,  and  said  it  was  all  right,  and  thimdered  with 
his  hunting-whip  on  the  hut  door.  After  some  gnmibUng  in  the 
inside,  the  door  was  cautiously  opened  by  a  man  with  a  gun. 
Four  men  were  within,  including  Lilly,  the  proprietor,  who  had 
come  that  way  to  give  directions  to  his  stock-keepers.  He 
quickly  tumbled  out  of  his  opossum-rug,  recognised  my  friends, 
but  did  not  know  me,  and  invited  us  all  to  partake  the  usual 
bush-fare. 

Though  displeased  at  the  delay  and  risk  of  blabbing,  I  went  in  : 
and  we  remained  an  hour  ;  so  that  dawn  was  breaking  before  we 
resumed  our  journey  Young  Lilly  was  informed,  before  I  left, 
of  the  nature  of  the  excursion,  and  undertook  to  keep  his  shep- 
herds, and  also  a  strange  shepherd  who  was  there,  closely  em- 
ployed about  the  place  for  some  days,  lest  they  should  spread 
abroad  the  intelligence  that  such  a  party  of  horsemen  had  been 
riding  coastward  upon  such  a  night. 

When  the  morning  reddened  in  the  sky,  we  found  ourselves  in 
as  wild  and  impervious  a  country  as  I  have  yet  seen  in  Van 
Diemen's  Land — no  moimtains,  but  countless  hills,  divided 
almost  uniformly  by  dangerous  marshes ;  rocks,  dead  trees, 
deep  "  creeks  "  with  rotten  banks  ;  such,  without  intermission 
for  forty  miles,  was  the  scene  of  our  tedious  travel.  The  only 
comfort  was,  that  no  constables  would  venture  into  those 
wildernesses  in  winter. 

Once  O'K- ,  who  was  mounted  on  a  powerful  black  mare, 

sunk  unexpectedly  deep  into  a  morass,  covered  with  treacherous 
herbage.  He  flung  himself  off  the  saddle  ;  and,  by  dint  of  some 
desperate  plunges,  the  mare  was  extricated.    We  came  into  a 


JAIL  JOURNAL  323 

narrow  gorge,  very  rocky  and  entangled  with  almost  impassable 
"  scrub."  Down  the  gorge  flowed,  or  rather  oozed,  through  the 
slimy  soil  and  prostrate  decayed  trees,  a  kind  of  creek,  which  we 
must  cross  :  but  never  in  all  my  bush  riding  had  I  seen  so  hideous 
and  perilous-looking  a  task  for  a  horseman.  Last  winter,  the 
floods  had  been  peculiarly  heavy  hereabouts  ;  and  the  channel  had 
been  mudh  deepened  and  widened.  Inunense  dead  trees  lay 
along  and  athwart  it  in  all  directions  ;  the  banks  were  high  and 
composed  of  soft  red  soil ;  and  in  the  bottom,  wherever  the  bottom 
could  be  seen,  there  seemed  to  be  nothing  but  unfathomable  red 
mud.  We  struggled  a  full  hour  along  the  bank,  looking  for  a 
point  where  it  was  possible  to  cross ;  and  every  moment  going 
farther  out  of  our  way,  as  was  too  apparent  by  the  sun. 

O'Mara,  who  was  mounted  on  a  fine  young  bay  horse,  once 
dashed  at  the  creek,  shouting,  "  Follow  me  !  "  He  went  down 
the  slope  safely ;  and  in  a  moment  we  saw  the  noble  horse 
springing  up  against  the  opposite  bank,  O'Mara  leaning  over  his 
neck  £ind  urging  him  with  spur  and  voice.  He  gave  two  or  three 
tremendous  bounds,  but  the  soft  earth  always  gave  way  under 
his  feet ;  and,  at  length,  with  his  fore-feet  pawing  wildly  in  the 
air,  down  he  went  backwards  to  the  bottom  ;  but  O'Mara, 
grasping  a  branch  of  a  dead  tree,  swung  himself  from  the  saddle, 
and  thus  saved  himself  from  interment  in  red  slime  under  his 
horse.  We  spent  an  hour  in  extricating  the  poor  animal,  which, 
by  dint  of  main  force,  we  accomplished ;  but  it  was  too  clear 
that  was  not  a  place  for  crossing. 

Over  the  creek,  however,  we  made  our  way,  and  late  last 
evening,  came  out  from  the  hills  upon  the  broad  tide-water  of 
the  Tamar,  near  a  small  settlement  called  York.  Avoiding  the 
houses,  which  might  have  contained  disaffected  persons — to  wit, 
constables — we  proceeded  about  a  couple  of  miles  into  the  woods 
beyond,  but  were  still  five  miles  from  the  sea-coast  at  Badger 
Head. 

{^  Darkness  came  on ;  and  the  country  before  us  was  almost 
impassable  even  in  dayUght ;  so  we  bivouacked  in  the  wood. 
Fortunately  it  was  a  grassy  place,  and  the  horses  could  pick  up 
something  to  eat.  We  lighted  a  good  fire,  roeisted  upon  forked 
sticks  certain  pieces  of  mutton  we  had  carried  with  us  from 
O'K 's,  finished  the  supply  of  brandy,  and  having  duly 


324  JAIL  JOURNAL 

smoked  our  pipes,  fixed  saddles  under  our  heads  for  pillows,  and 
slept. 

At  daybreak  this  morning  we  were  astir  ;  for  we  all  thought  it 
quite  possible  that  the  Don  Juan,  if  her  captain  had  received 
the  message  recalling  him,  might  have  been  off  the  designated 
beach  yesterday  evening ;  and  if  so,  the  wind  of  last  night, 
blowing  in  towards  the  shore,  would  have  obUged  her  to  work 
as  far  to  seaward  as  possible,  otherwise,  the  rocks  of  Badger 
Head  would  be  fringed  with  her  shivered  ribs  this  morning.  It 
was  calm  and  mild  weather  as  we  started  from  our  lair ;  and, 
after  four  miles'  difficult  journeying,  through  marshes,  we  heard 
the  roar  of  the  sea,  and  saw  Badger  Head  towering  to  our  left. 
Still,  the  water  was  invisible,  for  the  shore  was  bordered  by  a 
line  of  high  sand-hills,  clothed  with  honey-suckle  trees  and 
hoobialla.  We  scaled  the  sand-hills  ;  and  there  was  the  blessed 
sea- — but  as  far  as  the  eye  could  sweep  it,  not  a  sail ! 

We  gazed  blankly  into  one  another's  faces.  Determined,  how- 
ever, to  wait  there  all  day,  and  look  out  for  a  sail.  The  coast 
here  makes  a  fine  sweeping  curve  between  the  two  rocky  pro- 
montories ;  and  there  is  a  broad  smooth  beach  of  sand. 

A  vessel  suddenly  hove  in  sight,  round  the  point  of  Badger 
Head.  A  brigantine  !  She  was  four  miles  off,  and  we  had  no 
doubt,  from  her  apparent  tonnage  and  rig,  that  she  was  the  Don 
Juan.  She  stood  out  to  sea,  and  seemed  to  be  coming  out  the 
Tamar  mouth,  where  she  had  probably  taken  shelter  last  night. 

Now  we  eagerly  watched  her  movements,  expecting  every 
instant  that  she  would  tack.  From  the  distance,  we  were  unable 
to  see  whether  she  had  Macnamara's  signal-flag  at  her  mast- 
head :  but  we  gathered  some  dried  branches,  and  set  fire  to  them 
and  to  the  long  grass  that  covered  a  sand-hill.  Soon  a  pillar  of 
smoke  rose  into  the  air  that  might  have  been  visible  thirty  miles. 
The  insensible  brigantine  made  no  sign,  nor  swerved  from  her 
steady  course,  steering  direct  for  Melbourne.  In  an  hour  she 
was  out  of  sight,  and  we  took  counsel  what  we  should  do  next. 
There  we  could  stay  no  longer,  if  only  for  want  of  food  ;  and  it 
was  necessary  that  the  party  should  separate.  Mr.  Wood  re- 
newed his  proposal  of  sending  me  to  his  stock-station  among  the 
north-western  mountains,  where  I  might  stay  all  winter  as  a 
stock-keeper.    In  the  meantime  we  agreed  to  ride  in  the  evening 


JAIL  JOtlkNAL  325 

to  the  house  of  a  gentleman  named  Miller,  about  nine  miles  to 
the  west  of  us,  on  the  shore  of  Port  Sorel  inlet ;  stay  with  him  all 
night,  and  consult  with  him  in  the  morning. 

The  coast  all  along  is  totally  uninhabited  ;  and  we  did  not  see  a 
human  creature  all  day.  Half  a  mile  from  Miller's,  we  halted, 
and  Wood  rode  on  to  make  sure  that  no  strangers  were  about 
the  place.  Miller  himself  returned  with  Wood.  He  had  never 
seen  me  before  ;  but  seemed  delighted  that  we  had  come  to  him. 
He  assured  us  that  as  he  had  no  servants  at  that  time,  and  as  his 
house  was  quite  off  all  tracks  and  roads,  I  might,  if  necessary, 
remain  three  months  there  unsuspected.  On  the  other  side  of 
Port  Sorel  inlet,  which  is  not  half  a  mile  wide  at  the  mouth, 
stands  a  township,  with  police  office,  magistrate,  and  the  rest  of 
the  apparatus ;  and  Miller  says  the  last  stranger  who  appeared 
at  his  house  was  a  constable  from  Launceston,  bearing  the 
despatch  a  fortnight  ago  to  all  the  stations  along  that  coast, 
announcing  my  departure  from  Bothwell  and  enjoining  vigilance 
for  my  sake. 

"  All  special  messengers,"  said  he,  "  bearing  despatches  from 
Laimceston,  must  come  to  me,  and  request  me  to  put  them  across 
the  water  in  my  boat,  which  is  the  only  boat  on  this  side.  So, 
you  see,  it  is  all  right ;  you  can  stay  here  in  perfect  safety. 

O'K declared  he  could  not  see  how  this  made  all  right ;  for 

said  he,  "  If  our  journey  in  this  direction  comes  to  be  known,  as  it 
must  be  in  a  few  days,  your  next  visitor  will  be  another  express 
constable." 

"  The  very  thing,"  said  Miller,  "  that  we  want.  The  fellow 
can't  go  over  without  my  help : — I  can  make  him  drunk  here, 
and  take  the  despatch  from  him,  or  bribe  him  to  return  and  say 
he  delivered  it ;  or  drown  him,  if  you  like,  in  the  passage." 

This  did  not  appear  a  very  satisfactory  prospect ;  yet,  as  we 
must  separate,  and  as  the  Don  Juan  may  still  appear  to-morrow 
or  next  day,  I  have  resolved  to  stay  with  Mr.  Miller,  and  keep  a 
look-out  for  it.  All  my  escort  are  to  go  to  their  several  homes 
to-morrow,  and  Burke  is  to  communicate  with  Nicaragua 
Smith. 

Miller  is  an  Englishman,  long  resident  in  London ;  but,  like 
all  the  other  honest  people  in  this  country,  he  cordially  abhors 
Sir  William  Denison  and  his  government,  and  will  go  any  length 


326  JAIL  JOURNAL 

in  my  service  ;  not,  perhaps,  that  he  loves  me  more,  but  that  he 
loves  Sir  WiUiam  less. 

2yth. — Before  sunrise  this  morning,  I  went  with  O'K ,  took 

an  excellent  telescope  of  Miller's,  and  went  over  the  sand  hills  to 
get  a  view  of  the  sea.  Not  a  sail  in  sight.  Wind  steady  from 
the  north-west,  and  likely  to  remain  so.  This  is  a  fair  wind  for 
the  Don  Juan,  coming  from  Emu  Bay  towards  Port  Sorel ;  but 
I  begin  now  to  despair  of  her. 

After  breakfast,  all  my  friends  went  off — all  promising  to  return 
if  required.  They  leave  me  Burke's  horse,  the  same  that  I  rode 
from  Westbury. 

They  had  gone  about  four  hours,  and  Miller  and  I  were  sitting 
on  the  sand-hills  smoking,  when  a  sail  came  in  sight,  from  the 
westward ;  we  watched  her  eagerly,  but  she  turned  out  to  be  a 
barque.  Here,  then,  I  remain,  within  a  mile  of  a  poUce  barrack  ; 
Miller's  land  forms  a  point  which  runs  out  far  to  meet  the  opposite 
shore  of  the  inlet :  the  point  is  well  wooded  ;  and  immediately 
on  the  shore  the  hills  of  sand  are  thickly  fringed  with  a  dense 
shrubbery  of  boobialla,  a  small,  beautiful  tree,  rising  to  a  height 
of  seven  or  eight  feet,  and  forming  a  close  screen  with  its  dark 
green  leaves,  which  greatly  resemble  the  leaves  of  the  arbutus. 
From  behind  this  shelter  I  can  see  the  sleepy-looking  village, 
which  seems  to  be  peopled  mostly  by  constables,  sauntering 
about  with  their  belts  and  jingling  handcuffs. 

Jidy  1st. — ^Four  days  at  Miller's.  No  Don  Juan  :  no  news  from 
Launceston,  or  from  Nicaragua  Smith.  Though  my  host  is  well- 
informed  and  agreeable,  I  begin  to  execrate  this  lurking  life.  The 
suspense  and  terror  at  Nant  Cottage  must  be  grievous.  I  despise 
myself  as  I  sit  here  behind  my  boobialla  fence,  and  am  very  much 
inclined  to  cut  short  the  business  by  some  coup.  Mr.  Miller  pro- 
poses a  plan.  He  says  there  is  a  vessel  in  the  mouth  of  one  of  the 
rivers,  fourteen  miles  west,  taking  a  cargo  of  sawn  timber  on 
board  for  Melbourne.  "  She  will  be  cleared,"  continued  Miller 
"  by  our  friend  over  the  way,  the  chief  constable.  Now,  I  have 
a  brother  in  Melbourne,  lately  arrived  from  England.  I  have 
been  expecting  him  here  to  visit  me  ;  and  Mr.  Nicholls,  the  police 
magistrate,  and  the  chief  constable  are  aware  of  it.  If  you  choose, 
I  will  bring  you  over  to  the  village,  the  day  before  the  ship  is  to 
sail ;  introduce  you  as  my  brother  to  the  worthy  magistrate  ;  he 


JAtL  JOURNAL  327 

will  ask  us  to  dine  ;  he  will  give  you  a  certificate  ;  in  the  evening, 
you  and  I  will  go  along  with  the  clearing  of&cer  himself,  across 
the  country  to  the  river  Forth.  You  will  be  put  on  board  in  due 
form  of  law,  as  Henry  Miller,  and  proceed  upon  your  travels 
respectably.  Does  the  magistrate,  or  any  of  the  constables, 
know  your  appearance  ?  " 

"  How  can  I  tell  ?  You  know  they  are  always  changing  the 
constables  from  one  district  to  another.  However,  I  think  my 
disguise  is  complete."  Miller  ran  to  his  boat,  sculled  across,  and 
within  an  hour  returned,  laughing — "  I  have  told  Mr.  Nicholls 
that  you  are  here  ;  and  I  think  he  will  feel  that  it  is  only  civility 
to  come  over  and  visit  you.  I  also  mentioned  you  to  the  chief 
of  poUce,  telling  him  that,  although  you  have  been  so  short  a 
time  here,  you  are  tired  of  the  coimtry  (which  is  true),  and  want 
to  go  to  Melbourne.  I  told  him  you  did  not  much  like  the  idea 
of  travelling  back  to  Launceston,  to  take  your  passage  in  one  of 
the  steamers,  and  asked  him  if  there  were  not  a  good  vessel  shortly 
to  sail  from  some  of  these  rivers.  '  There  is  the  Wave  '  said  he — 
'  the  very  thing  for  your  brother.'  " 

"  WeU,"  I  asked,  "  what  more  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Miller,  "  he  is  going  over  to  the  Forth  to-morrow, 
will  go  on  board  the  ship,  and  will  bring  us  back  full  particulars 
as  to  the  accommodation,  fare,  etc.  Then  you  and  I  are  to  dine 
with  the  police  magistrate,  on  our  way ;  and  the  clearing  officer 
will  have  an  interview  with  you  in  the  police  office,  and  will  make 
all  smooth  for  my  brother.    This  thing  will  do.    You  must  come." 

"  I  agree  to  everything  but  the  dinner  party  at  the  pohce  magis- 
trate's. I  will  not  sit  down  at  any  man's  table  under  a  feigned 
name  ;  but  let  us  impose  on  him  otherwise,  if  you  like." 

"  You  agree,  then,  to  go  as  my  brother  ?  " 

"  Certainly ;  I  am  tired  of  skulking  about ;  though  your 
society  and  conversation,  my  dear  fellow,  are ." 

"  Hurrah !  "  said  Miller,  running  to  tell  his  wife  of  our  plan. 
He  seems  rejoiced  beyond  measure  that  he  is  to  have  the  whole 
credit  of  taking  me  off,  when  all  my  Irish  friends  had  failed,  and 
swears  he  will  go  with  me  to  Melbourne.  To-morrow  he  goes 
across  to  the  village  again,  to  learn  all  the  particulars  about  the 
cabin  of  the  Wave,  "  for  we  must  pretend  to  be  very  fastidious 
about  our  accommodations." 


328  JAIL  JOURNAL 

2nd. — To-day  he  pushed  his  boat  over  again.  "  It  is  all  right," 
he  said,  when  he  returned — "  everything  arranged.  We  sail  on 
the  %th.  The  police  magistrate  will  come  over  in  the  meantime  to 
visit  you." 

So  the  matter  stands,  then.  If  I  do  not  hear  of  some  better 
arrangements  made  by  Nicaragua  Smith,  or  my  friends  in  Laun- 
ceston,  before  the  Wave  Ufts  anchor,  I  shall  sail  as  Henry  Miller. 

Miller  has  two  magnificent  kangaroo  dogs.  His  son  George 
and  I  rode  out  to-day  upon  Badger  Head,  taking  the  dogs  with 
us ;  and,  in  the  scrubby  hollows  of  the  promontory,  we  raised 
two  kangaroos ;  but,  I  grieve  to  say,  lost  them  both.  The  "  scrub," 
was  too  close  for  the  dogs  to  run.  We  saw,  on  our  return,  three 
superb  eagles,  poising  themselves  on  moveless  wings,  high  in 
the  air.  The  lambing  season  has  commenced  ;  and  these  three 
murderers  have  come  down  from  the  mountains  to  keep  an  eye 
upon  Miller's  young  lambs. 

$th  July. — About  eleven  o'clock  to-day  two  horsemen  were 
seen  approaching  through  the  trees,  from  the  direction  of  Badger 
Head.  An  unusual  sight ;  for  the  last  eight  days  no  human 
being  has  appeared  on  this  side  of  Port  Sorel,  and  it  happened 
that  the  foot-prints  of  one  solitary  m£in  had  been  seen  on  the 
sand,  the  very  day  we  came  here,  which  kept  Miller's  family 
speculating  and  wondering  ever  since.  So  there  was  commotion 
in  the  house,  when  one  of  the  boys  ran  in  to  tell  us  of  the  approach- 
ing horsemen.  Miller  locked  me  up  in  my  own  room,  having  first 
warned  me  to  look  to  my  pistols.  He  walked  out  to  meet  the 
strangers.  Presently  I  heard  well-known  voices,  and  came  out — 
the  two  Burkes  have  come,  to  bring  me  to  Launceston.  My  in- 
defatigable friend  Dease,  a  merchant  in  that  town,  has  bargained 

it  seems,  with  Capt. ,  of  the  steamer ,  to  bring  me  from 

Launceston  to  Melbourne  ;  and  my  passage  has  been  secured  on 
board  the  steamer,  in  the  name  of  Father  Macnamara.  I  must  be 
in  Launceston  to-morrow  evening ;  go  on  board  at  once,  and 
remain  there  all  night.  Next  morning  the  steamer  sails.  They 
tell  me  no  time  is  to  be  lost,  for  it  begins  to  be  rumoured  that  I 
am  still  on  the  island,  and  the  police  have  a  nose  like  the  nose  of 
the  behemoth  that  pierceth  through  snares. 

Launceston  is  fifty-five  or  sixty  miles  off ;  and  the  .country  is, 
in  this  season,  altogether  execrable.     They  have  only  ridden 


JAIL  JOURNAL  329 

to-day  from  the  Tamar  mouth  (about  fifteen  miles),  and  propose 
that  I  start  at  once,  and  go  so  far  this  evening  as  a  certain  hut 
they  know.    To-morrow  to  Launceston. 

Farewell,  then,  to  my  kind  English  host  and  hostess  ;  and  once 
more  in  the  saddle.  Miller  says  that  I  had  better  go  by  the 
Wave,  and  be  his  brother  Henry. 

8th. — On  the  6th  we  slept  (the  two  Burkes  and  I)  at  a  hut  in 
the  woods.  On  the  7th,  a  wet  and  stormy  day,  we  made  good 
our  way,  though  with  great  labour  and  fatigue,  to  Launceston. 

Went  to  the  house  of ,  and  got  rigged  up  instantly  as  a 

Catholic  priest — shaved  from  the  eyes  to  the  throat ;  dressed  in 
a  long  black  coat,  with  upright  collar,  the  narrow  white  band 
round  the  neck,  and  a  broad  black  hat,  I  waited  for  Mr.  Dease 
to  come  and  bring  me  on  board.  Dease  came,  accompanied  by 
Connellan  of  Hobart  Town. 

This  plot  also  miscarries  ;  and  they  all  fear  the  case  is  almost 

desperate.    Capt. says  positively  that  he  dares  not  take  me 

on  board  at  Launceston,  nor  even  an5nvhere  along  the  river  on  his 
way  down,  at  least  until  after  his  ship  has  been  cleared  at  George- 
town, forty-five  miles  below  Launceston  : — says  the  rigour  of 
searching  has  been  greatly  increased  since  I  left  Bothwell,  and 
that  the  police  magistrate  at  Georgetown  has  got  very  special 
orders :  so  that  he  (the  captain)  cannot  take  me,  even  concealed 
in  his  own  cabin — that  retreat,  which  used  to  be  a  sanctuary, 
being  now  subject  to  the  narrowest  scrutiny.  In  short,  he  said, 
I  must  go  down  in  an  open  boat  this  night — so  as  to  find  myself 
below  Georgetown,  between  the  very  capes  of  the  river's  mouth, 
to-morrow  about  three  o'clock.    There  he  will  take  me  up. 

Dease  had  come  to  tell  me  that  a  boat  was  ready  for  me,  and 
that  I  must  start  at  once.  It  was  a  dreadful  night,  wet  and 
stormy.  I  had  ridden  fifty  miles,  mostly  through  rain,  rivers, 
and  morasses,  and  was  thoroughly  tired.  I  declared  I  would 
go  on  board  in  the  morning  openly  at  the  quay,  as  Father 
Macnamara,  and  run  all  the  risk ;  but  my  friends  overruled 
this,  and  almost  carried  me  down  to  the  river. 

It  was  profoundly  dark.  Two  boatmen  were  waiting  for  us  at 
the  water  side.  Dease  and  Connellan  came  with  me.  I  threw  my- 
self along  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  in  ten  minutes  was  fast  asleep ; 
and  so  we  started  on  our  nocturnal  expedition  of  about  fifty  miles. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

gth  July — Launceston,  V.  D.  L. — ^We  have  come  back  here. 
Baffled  again. 

To  resume  the  story  of  our  almost  desperate  attempt  to  get  out 
of  the  river  Tamar  in  an  open  boat : — ^We  were  rowed  nearly  all 
night  after  leaving  Launceston,  and  a  little  before  dawn  arrived 
at  a  point  of  the  river  (or  rather  estuary),  where  it  is  above  two 
miles  in  width.  On  the  right  bank,  just  here,  lives  a  worthy 
colonist,  named  Barrett,  to  me  imknown,  but  for  whom  my  com- 
panions vouch  as  well  affected.  We  put  the  boat  ashore,  and 
walking  up  to  the  house,  in  the  dark,  thundered  at  the  door  with- 
out ceremony.  Barrett  came  down.  We  asked  him  for  his  boat 
(a  good  gig),  and  people  to  pull  it,  intending  to  leave  the  little 
skiff  that  had  brought  us  down  at  his  place,  imtil  my  friends 
should  be  returning  up  the  river,  after  depositing  me  on  board 
the  steamer  at  the  river  mouth.  The  boat,  the  men,  everything 
was  at  our  service.  We  stayed  an  hour  or  two,  breakfasted,  and 
then  Mr.  Barrett  volunteered  to  go  with  us  himself,  and  to  see 
me  fairly  at  sea.  There  was  good  daylight  when  we  started,  and 
we  had  only  sixteen  or  seventeen  miles  to  go  to  Georgetown.  So 
we  dropped  down  the  river  at  our  leisure.  It  is  a  most  winding 
and  dangerous  estuary,  varjdng  in  breadth  from  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  to  three  miles,  bordered  by  hills,  all  covered  with  imbroken 
forest,  except  where  a  small  farm  has  been  cleared  here  and 
there. 

Before  coming  quite  opposite  to  Georgetown,  Mr.  Barrett  put 
me  and  Connellan  ashore  for  a  while  in  the  woods  on  the  western 
bank,  and  went  himself  over  to  the  village,  in  order  that  he  might 
see  the  chief  of  police,  and  give  him  some  accoimt  (a  false  account 
of  course)  of  his  errand  down  there  with  his  boat.  Unless  this 
precaution  were  taken,  he  said,  the  police  would  assuredly  take 
notice  of  the  strange  boat,  and  send  an  armed  police  boat  to 
question  us. 

We  remained  an  hour  in  the  woods  ;  Barrett  was  to  return  to 

330 


JAIL  JOURNAL  331 

our  side  at  a  point  two  miles  lower  down  the  river  than  the  place 
we  landed,  to  take  us  up  there  whenever  the  steamer  should 
appear.  He  had  scarcely  pushed  across  to  Georgetown  before  the 
black  jEunnel  and  its  streamer  of  smoke  came  round  a  wooded  pro- 
montory within  three  miles.  The  usual  custom  is  to  delay  these 
steamers  about  an  hour  at  Georgetown,  while  they  imdergo  a 
thorough  and  final  search,  so  that  we  calculated  on  having 
abundance  of  time.  The  captain  had  directed  us  to  be  in  the 
middle  of  the  river  in  the  boat,  after  he  should  have  got  rid  of 
the  searchers,  and  he  would  lie  to  and  take  me  on  board.  I  had 
my  priestly  garments  and  broad-brimmed  hat  along  with  me,  so 
as  to  enable  me  to  act  the  character  of  Father  Macnamara  with 
proper  dignity  and  sanctity. 

But  while  Connellan  and  I  were  making  our  way  to  the  point  at 
which  Barrett  was  to  take  us  up  again,  and  just  after  we  had  seen 
the  police  boat  come  out  to  overhaul  the  ship,  we  saw,  to  our  utter 
dismay,  that  the  boat  left  her  again  instantly,  and  she,  without 
stopping,  steamed  away  down  towards  the  Heads.  Barrett's 
boat  had  not  yet  left  Georgetown  to  come  over  for  us  ;  half  an 
hour  passed,  and  the  boat  did  not  come.  The  steamer  was  now 
four  miles  down  the  river,  and  there,  close  by  the  light-house, 
we  saw  her  stop. 

Now,  we  thought  all  was  right.  Barrett's  boat  at  last  ap- 
proached, pulled  with  desperate  energy  by  four  men.  We 
jumped  in,  and  put  off,  still  keeping  our  eyes  on  the  steamer, 
when,  at  that  moment,  up  went  the  steam  again.  The  captain 
evidently  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  something  must  have 
happened  to  prevent  me  from  keeping  my  appointment ;  and  he 
had  waited  full  fifteen  minutes.  We  were  too  far  off  to  be 
visible  from  the  ship,  close  under  the  shore  as  we  were  ;  and,  just 
as  our  rowers  were  stretching  to  their  oars  with  all  their  force, 
the  steamer  moved  slowly  off  before  our  eyes,  swept  roimd  the 
lighthouse,  and  away  on  her  straight  course  for  Melbourne. 

The  chance  was  lost.  The  sun  set  in  a  red  and  angry  sky ;  it 
was  certainly  to  be  a  stormy  night ;  and  there  we  were,  far  from 
shelter,  opposite  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  vigilant  poUce 
stations  of  the  island.  Back  to  Launceston  we  must  absolutely 
make  our  way,  and  that  before  morning.  Moreover,  as  Mr.  Dease 
one  of  our  companions,  had  been  left  in  Georgetown,  Barrett 


332  J  AIL  JtOUMAL 

must  call  for  him.  I  objected  to  go  in  the  boat  to  Georgetown  ; 
but  said  I  would  go  on  shore  again  with  Connellan,  on  the 
west  bank,  and  let  Barrett  come  for  me,  after  taking  up 
Dease. 

We  accordingly  went  into  the  woods  again,  and  watched  the 
boat  going  across.  Half  an  hour,  at  the  utmost,  would  suffice  to 
bring  her  back.  Half  an  hour  passed,  but  no  boat  came.  It  was 
now  dark.  An  hour  went  by,  two  hours,  still  no  boat  came.  We 
knew  that  something  was  wrong,  and  conjectured  that  some  of 
the  boatmen  had  got  drunk,  and  let  out  the  secret.  "  In  that 
case,"  said  Connellan,  "  the  first  boat  that  comes  over  will  be  a 
police  boat."  Another  hour  elapsed,  and  we  had  made  up  our 
mind  to  spend  the  night  in  some  very  secret  part  of  the  forest,  and 
walk  next  day,  by  West  Head  and  Badger  Head,  back  to  my 
friend  Miller,  when  we  heard  in  the  darkness  the  sound  of  oars 
working  in  their  rowlocks.  Presently  the  prow  of  a  boat  ran  up 
against  the  gravelly  beach  ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  see  anything 
at  one  yard's  distance.  I  told  Connellan  to  go  down  towards  the 
place  where  he  heard  the  sound,  and  if  all  was  right  to  sing  out 
"  Coo-ee  "  ;  but,  if  it  was  a  police  boat,  then  to  make  no  sound, 
but  try  to  rejoin  me  instantly.  In  the  meantime  I  put  caps  on 
my  pistols. 

"  Coo-ee  \  "  It  was  Barrett's  boat ;  the  delay  was  caused  only 
by  two  of  the  boatmen  getting  drunk ;  but  there  had  been  no 
blabbing,  so  far  as  Barrett  knew.  To  my  surprise,  I  foimd  also 
Dan  Burke,  of  Westbury,  in  the  boat.  He  had  taken  his  passage 
in  the  steamer,  and  was  to  have  gone  with  Father  Macnamara  to 
Melbourne.  Says  that  the  steamer  did  not  delay  an  hour,  as 
usual,  only  because  the  chief  of  police  at  Georgetown,  called  the 
"  clearing  officer,"  had  happened  to  be  in  Launceston,  had  come 
down  on  board  the  steamer,  and  had  made  his  researches  on  his 
way  ;  so,  when  the  police  boat  came  alongside,  he  had  nothing  to 
do  but  drop  into  it,  and  go  ashore.  Burke  says  that  the  captain 
had  then  no  pretext  for  delay — that  if  he  had  stopped  anywhere 
nearer  to  Georgetown,  he  would  be  sure  to  be  visited  again  by 
the  police — that  when  he  did  stop,  down  at  the  Heads,  he  had 
anxiously  kept  looking  out  with  a  glass,  to  see  whether  our  boat 
appeared  ;  and  at  last  had  given  us  up.  The  failure,  therefore, 
was  not  the  captain's  fault,  but  is  due  to  the  "  Fates  and  Destinies, 


JAIL  JOURNAL  '     333 

the  Sisters  Three,  and  such  branches  of  learning."  Burke  him- 
self had  left  the  steamer  at  the  Heads,  and  had  come  back  in 
the  pilot-boat. 

We  had  a  weary  pull  up  the  river  again.  The  night  came  down 
in  a  horrible  storm,  and  we  were  twice  on  reefs.  Reached 
Barrett's  about  one  o'clock :  took  our  Launceston  boat  and 
boatmen  again  ;  bade  adieu  to  poor  Barrett,  who  is  very  despond- 
ing about  my  fate — these  repeated  failures  being,  as  he  thinks,  a 
pronouncement  of  heaven  against  me — and  then  we  set  out  for 
Launceston.  I  was  now  fully  resolved  to  stay  no  longer  on  the 
north  side  of  the  island,  but  to  make  my  way  to  Hobart  Town, 
and  put  myself  in  the  hands  of  some  ship-owner  to  be  smuggled 
away  like  contraband  goods,  as  he  in  his  wisdom  should  think 
best.  The  storm  roared  and  raged  more  furiously  every  moment ; 
in  the  windings  of  the  channel  we  were  several  times  driven  ashore; 
yet,  as  the  wind  was  with  us  we  kept  the  sail  set,  hoping  to  get 
up  to  the  town  before  morning.  The  rain  came  down  in  torrents  ; 
the  woods  groaned  and  even  shrieked  ;  and,  through  the  blackness 
of  the  night,  we  could  see  nothing  but  the  glimmer  of  the  white 
foam.  When  we  were  yet  sixteen  miles  from  Launceston  a 
dreadful  squall  came  down  upon  us,  and  before  the  men  could 
drop  the  lug-sail  we  were  driven  violently  ashore.  The  boatmen 
declared  that  they  would  not  go  to  Launceston  till  the  storm  was 
over.  We  were  in  a  perfectly  trackless  wood ;  the  earth  was 
soaked,  the  trees  were  dripping ;  but  we  did  not  care  for  that, 
having  been  drenched  to  the  meirrow  of  the  bones  some  hours 
before.  Five  or  six  hours  we  spent  in  those  dismal  circum- 
stances, deriving  an  imperfect  consolation  from  smoking ;  but  so 
thoroughly  exhausted  were  we,  that  every  one  of  us  lay  down 
and  slept,  under  the  pouring  rain. 

Embarked  again  this  morning  ;  and  of  course,  reached  Laun- 
ceston in  broad  day.  I  was  put  ashore  a  mile  from  the  town,  and 
was  to  walk  up,  accompanied  by  Dan  Burke,  and  proceed  openly 
to  the  house  of  Father  Butler,  behind  the  Catholic  Chapel, 
where  the  others  were  to  meet  me.  There  is  nothing  like  cool- 
ness. We  walked  quietly  into  and  through  the  town  :  and  the 
man  of  five  feet  ten,  dark  hair,  and  so  forth,  passed  quite  un- 
challenged, through  the  streets — ^probably,  because  there  are  so 
many  men  whom  that  description  fits.    In  truth,  if  my  wife  had 


334  JAIL  JOURNAL 

met  me  in  that  walk,  she  could  not  have  suspected  me.     So 
I  reached  the  worthy  priest's  house  safely. 

When  Connellan,  Dease,  and  his  brother  came,  they  all  agreed 
with  me,  that  the  north  side  of  the  island  has  grown  too  hot  to 
hold  me.  The  two  Launceston  boatmen,  who  have  just  brought 
us  up,  though  my  name  was  never  mentioned  before  them,  must, 
at  least,  suspect.  Barrett's  men  knew  me  well  enough.  Besides, 
the  long  journeys  of  the  Burkes,  to  and  fro,  must  have  been 
noticed  ;  and  I,  therefore,  tell  my  friends  that  I  am  resolved  to 
go  straight  to  Hobart  Town,  and  by  the  public  coach.  The 
distance  is  120  miles,  the  coach  road  passes  through  seven  or 
eight  townships,  and  by  a  dozen  police  offices.  Yet,  still  relying 
on  my  clerical  character  I  think  this  safer  than  any  other  mode  of 
travelling. 

Connellan  has  gone  to  take  two  places  in  the  night  mail,  for  the 
night  after  next,  one  for  himself,  and  one  for  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blake. 
In  the  meantime,  the  good  Father  Butler  proposes  to  conceal  me 
in  the  belfry  of  his  church.  How  can  I  ever  acknowledge  the 
great  services  rendered  to  me  by  all  these  kind  people  ? 

1.2th  July — Hobart  Town. — ^The  Rev.  Mr.  Blake  has  accom- 
plished his  perilous  journey.  The  night  coach  started  from 
Launceston  at  half-past  five  p.m.,  when  there  is  still  daylight, 
and  Father  Butler  would  by  no  means  hear  of  my  going  to  the 
coach  office  in  the  most  public  part  of  the  town.  He,  therefore 
lent  me  a  horse,  and  rode  with  me  out  of  town,  to  wait  for  the 
coach  at  Frankland  village.  As  we  rode  on  we  approached  a 
turnpike  gate.  "  Here,"  said  Mr.  Butler,  "  you  can  test  your 
disguise.  Clergymen,  of  all  denominations,  are  privileged  to  pass 
the  toll-gates  free  in  Van  Diemen's  Land.  If  the  man  has  no 
doubt  about  your  being  a  priest,  he  will  politely  touch  his  hat 
to  us  both.  But  if  he  does  not  believe  in  your  holy  orders,  it 
will  cost  you  threepence."  I  saved  the  threepence,  and  my 
dignified  nod  was  as  good  as  a  blessing  to  the  gate-keeper. 

When  I  bade  adieu  to  Father  Butler,  and  got  into  the  coach,  I 
foxrnd,  besides  Connellan,  two  other  passengers  inside,  one  of 
them,  a  man  whom  I  had  met  and  talked  with,  at  least  once 
before,  and  who  certainly  would  have  known  me,  had  I  been  less 
effectually  disguised.  He  is  T.  MacDowell,  late  Attorney- 
General  for  the  colony — a  dangerous  neighbour.    Not  that  I 


JAIL  JOURNAL  335 

believe  it  would  have  been  running  any  risk  to  confide  the 
matter  to  him,  but  there  was  another  stranger.  Mr.  MacDowell 
tried  to  draw  me  into  conversation,  asked  me  about  "  my  bishop," 
but  I  was  shy,  unsatisfactory,  Jesuitical. 

Towards  morning,  we  passed  the  point  of  the  mail  road  nearest 
to  Bothwell ;  within  sixteen  miles  ;  and  I  gazed  wistfully  up  at 
the  gloomy  ridge  of  the  Den  Hill.  Beyond  that  hill,  embowered 
among  the  boscages  of  Bothwell,  Ues  my  Uttle  quasi-liame,  which 
my  eyes  will  never  see  again,  with  all  its  sleeping  inmates  lulled 
by  the  murmuring  Clyde. 

The  coach  changed  horses  at  Greenponds,  as  usual ;  and  every- 
body at  Greenponds  knows  me  by  sight.  Several  men  were  about 
the  coach  ;  they  looked  into  it,  and  all  over  it,  as  if  expecting  to 
see  some  traveller.  I  took  no  note  of  all  this,  till  Mr.  MacDowell 
said  to  one  of  them,  "  Ah,  you  are  up  early  "  (it  was  about  four 
o'clock  in  a  winter's  morning).  "  Yes,  sir,"  was  the  answer,  "  on 
special  duty."  I  now  looked  more  sharply  at  the  man  ;  it  was  the 
chief  constable  of  Greenponds,  with  some  of  his  force.  If  it  was 
for  my  sake,  however,  they  had  risen  so  early,  it  was  in  vain,  for 
not  one  of  them  recognised  me.  I  looked  as  calm  and  mild  as 
if  Deus  vohiscum  were  on  my  lips  ;  but  I  was  preparing  to  open 
the  coach  door  farthest  from  the  hotel,  at  a  moment's  notice, 
with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  took  hold  of  a  pistol  in  the 
pocket  of  my  clerical  soutane. 

We  passed  on.  It  was  clear  day  this  morning  before  we 
reached  Bridgewater ;  and  it  would  have  been  madness  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  coach  to  the  door  of  the  Ship  Inn,  at  Hobart  Town, 
where  there  is  always  a  crowd  of  detectives  ;  so  I  left  the  coach, 
and  went  into  the  hotel  to  remain  there  all  day,  and  take  the 
evening  coach  into  town.  Connellan  remained  in  his  place,  and 
bade  farewell  very  respectfully  to  Mr.  Blake.  He  says  Mr. 
MacDowell  looked  somewhat  keenly  after  me,  and  observed, 
"  Your  reverend  friend,  Connellan,  does  not  carry  any  luggage." 

I  spent  the  day  walking  along  the  Derwent,  £ind  amongst  the 
woods  ;  dined  at  the  soUtary  inn,  and  in  the  evening  took  a  place 
outside  on  the  coach  which  was  to  reach  Hobart  Town  at  eight 
o'clock.  Six  miles  short  of  Hobart  Town  we  stopped  a  moment  at 
a  hotel.  St.  Kevin  O'Doherty  cUmbed  the  coach,  and  sat  down 
directly  in  front  of  me,  looking  straight  in  my  face.    A  flood  of 


336  JAIL  JOURNAL 

light  from  the  house  was  upon  us  at  the  moment.  He  had  come 
out  expressly  to  meet  me ;  he  knew  I  was  to  be  dressed  as  a  priest, 
yet  I  was  a  total  stranger  to  him.  Before  going  down  into  the 
centre  of  the  town,  I  made  the  coachman  pull  up,  left  the  coach, 
and  walked  through  the  dark  streets  (for  the  city  is  not  Jighted) 
to  ConnellEin's  house,  in  Collins  Street.  I  knocked  at  the  door ; 
it  was  opened  by  Nicaragua.  "  Is  Mr.  Connellan  at  home,  sir  ?  " 
"  No,  sir  ;  he  has  gone  out  to  take  a  drive."  "  Will  he  soon  re- 
turn ?  "  Nicaragua  all  this  time  was  looking  at  me  curiously  and 
anxiously.  Connellan,  in  fact,  had  gone  to  Bridgewater,  in  a  gig 
for  me.  It  was  now  full  time  for  him  to  return,  and  when  a 
stranger  came  instead,  poor  Nicaragua  thought  all  was  over,  that 
I  had  been  taken,  and  that  his  visitor  was  a  detective  come  to 
search  for  papers — such  an  atmosphere  of  "  preternatural  sus- 
picion "  do  men  breathe  in  this  Tartarean  island. 

I  saw  now  that  my  disguise  might  carry  me  through  a  birthday 
ball  at  Government  House.  I  walked  into  the  hall,  shut  the 
door,  went  into  the  parlour,  where  lights  were  burning,  took  off 
my  broad-brimmed  hat,  looked  at  Nicaragua,  and  laughed. 
Then  he  knew  me.  It  was  the  first  time  we  had  met  since  we 
exchanged  horses  and  coats  in  the  wood  behind  Bothwell,  just 
five  weeks  ago,  and  he  has  since  had  almost  as  much  travelling 
and  hardship  as  myself. 

He  has  much  to  tell  me  ;  was  up  two  or  three  days  ago  at  Nant 
Cottage.  All  weU  there  ;  every  one  in  Bothwell,  and  all  over  the 
island,  laughing  at  Mr.  Davis,  the  pohce  magistrate.  A  song  is 
sxmg  now  in  those  parts,  celebrating  his  worship's  horse,  Donald, 
that  he  lent  his  prisoner  to  escape  upon.  There  are  grave  sus- 
picions over  him  ;  and  many  will  continue  to  beUeve  that  I  bought 
not  the  horse,  but  the  owner.  This  makes  his  worship  nearly 
frantic  ;  and  he  has  since  converted  his  police  office  into  a  kind  of 
fortress,  with  two  armed  constables,  instead  of  one,  always  keep- 
ing guard  at  the  door,  who  have  the  strictest  orders  never  to  hold 
any  gentleman's  horse.  They  have  really  been  too  careless  at 
these  offices,  and  I  take  some  credit  for  reforming  the  discipline 
of  this  one.  Mr.  Davis  declares  he  will  exculpate  himself  before 
all  Europe  ;  he  will  appeal  to  the  human  species.  In  the  mean- 
time, he  sternly  awaits  an  attack  from  John  Knox. 

Nicaragua  himself  goes  everywhere  without  molestation,  having 


^^^I'^lA-A^.-n.^u- 


(1846) 


.     JAIL  JOURNAL  -  337 

been  a  mere  spectator  in  the  Bothwell  affair,  and  not  an  actor ;  but 
his  motions  are  watched  closely  ;  and  on  Connellan's  coming  into 
the  house,  it  was  decided  that  I  could  not  stay  in  that  house, 
even  for  one  night,  in  safety.  Nicaragua  and  I,  therefore,  left  the 
door  at  different  times,  walked  different  ways,  and  met  at  Mr. 
Maning's  door.  Mr.  Maning  is  agent  in  Hobart  Town  for  Macna- 
mara's  ships,  and  I  knew  him  to  be  well-affected  to  me,  although 
a  frequenter  of  Government  House,  and  birth-day  balls,  and  the 
like. 

In  half-an-hour  we  had  our  plan  arranged.  The  Emma, 
regular  passenger-brig,  sails  hence  for  Sydney  within  a  week. 
Nicaragua  sets  out  to-morrow  for  Bothwell,  to  hasten  and  assist 
the  winding-up  of  all  affairs  at  Nant  Cottage,  sale  of  stock,  etc., 
so  as  to  enable  my  wife  and  family  to  sail  by  the  same  vessel — 
they  to  go  on  board  at  the  wharf,  and  be  regularly  "  clecired  "  by 
the  authorities — I,  being  contraband,  to  be  taken  down  the  bay 
by  Maning  himself,  in  his  own  boat — ^the  Emma  to  time  her 
lifting  anchor,  so  as  to  drop  down  the  stream  at  dusk — I,  to  be 
put  on  board  in  the  dzirk  three  or  four  miles  below,  but  to  preserve 
my  incognito  strictly  while  on  board,  even  to  my  own  children. 
There  might  be  some  disaffected  passengers  in  the  Emma  ;  and 
if  any  of  them  should  know  me  and  betray  my  presence  in 
Sydney,  I  would  be  as  certainly  arrested  there  as  in  Hobart 
Town  itself.  Meantime,  Mr.  Maning  has  brought  me  out  to-night 
to  the  house  of  his  father,  two  miles  down  the  Sandy  Bay  road, 
in  a  quiet  country  place,  where  I  am  to  remain  concealed  till 
the  ship  sails. 

This  is  a  bold  move  ;  but,  unless  some  tmtoward  accident 
occurs,  it  will  be  successful.    Then  away  for  San  Francisco. 

July  igth — At  Sea. — The  Emma,  with  all  sails  set,  is  gliding 
northwards.  Maria  Island,  O'Brien's  old  dungeon,  is  straight 
opposite,  and  the  long-stretching  mountainous  coast  of  Van 
Diemen's  Land  extending  to  windward  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach. 

Yesterday  evening  I  was  placed  on  board  in  the  bay  by  moon- 
light. Capt.  Brown  received  me  as  a  passenger  he  had  been 
expecting,  merely  observing :  "  You  were  almost  too  late,  Mr. 
Wright " — then  brought  me  down  to  the  cabin,  and  introduced 
Mr.  Wright  to  the  passengers,  including  Nicaragua.    My  wife  wa^ 

22 


338  JAIL  JOURNAL 

sitting  on  the  poop  with  the  children  in  the  moonlight,  eagerly 
watching  my  embarkation,  but  did  not  say  a  word  to  me  ;  and 
Mr.  Wright  walked  about  as  a  stranger.  The  ship  is  full  of 
passengers  ;  but  not  one  of  them  knows  me. 

July  20th. — ^This  evening  we  are  fast  shutting  down  the  coast  of 
Van  Diemen's  Land  below  the  red  horizon,  and  about  to  stretch 
across  the  stormy  Bass's  Straits.  The  last  of  my  island  prison 
visible  to  me  is  a  broken  line  of  blue  peaks  over  the  Bay  of 
Fires.  Adieu,  then,  beauteous  island,  full  of  sorrow  and  gnashing 
of  teeth — Island  of  fragrant  forests,  and  bright  rivers,  and  fair 
women ! — Island  of  chains  and  scourges,  and  blind,  brutal  rage 
and  passion  !  Behind  those  far  blue  peaks,  in  many  a  green 
valley  known  to  me,  dwell  some  of  the  best  and  warmest-hearted 
of  all  God's  creatures ;  and  the  cheerful  talk  of  their  genial 
fire-sides  will  blend  for  ever  in  my  memory  with  the  eloquent 
song  of  the  dashing  Derwent  and  deep-eddjdng  Shannon. 

Van  Diemen's  Land  is  no  longer  a  penal  colony.  That  is  to 
say,  the  British  Government,  yielding  with  a  very  ill  grace  to  the 
imperious  remonstrances  of  five  potent  colonies,  has  announced 
that  no  more  prisoners  shall  be  sent  thither.  In  a  generation  or 
two,  then,  the  convict  taint  may  be  well-nigh  worn  out  of  the 
population  ;  and  those  most  lovely  vales  will  be  peopled  by 
beings  almost  human.  May  it  be  so  !  Tasmania  will  then 
be  the  brightest  of  the  five  Australasian  stars  that  have  already 
dawned  on  their  blue  Southern  banner. 

Vanish  the  peaks  of  the  Bay  of  Fires ;  a  storm  is  gathering,  and 
the  Straits  are  going  to  show  us  this  night  the  utmost  they  can 
do.  I  go  below,  and  having  already  formed  some  casual  ac- 
quaintance with  Nicaragua  and  other  passengers,  Mr.  Wright 
sits  down  to  smoke  and  chat. 

July  2'^rd — Sunrise.  —We  are  off  the  entrance  to  Sydney  har- 
bour— Narrow  entrance ;  perpendicular  cliffs  on  both  sides. 
Lighthouse  perched  on  one  of  them.  After  getting  through  the 
entrance,  a  spacious  bay  appears,  running  into  many  coves 
stretching  in  all  directions,  in  every  one  of  which  a  fleet  might 
lie  at  anchor.  Low  wooded  hills  all  around.  The  city  crowns 
the  head  of  the  bay,  and  who  needs  to  be  informed  that  there  is 
plenty  of  shipping. 

Jlere,  Mr.  Wright  must  run  the  gauntlet  again  ;  for  the  Emma, 


JAIL  JOURNAL  339 

as  usual,  is  to  be  searched  by  police  authorities,  and  they  possess 
undoubtedly  a  description  (probably  a  too  flattering  portrait)  of 
the  man  of  five  feet  ten,  with  dark  hair.  But  Captain  Brown, 
who  is  famiUar  with  the  chief  officer,  takes  him  at  once  down  to 
the  cabin,  produces  brandy  and  water,  tells  the  official  person 
some  new  anecdote  of  a  jocose  description,  and  so  gets  rid  of  him. 
Then  he  makes  ready  his  own  boat,  and  tells  Mr.  Wright  that  he 
is  going  to  bring  him  ashore  first.  Mr.  Wright  nods  a  slight 
farewell  to  Nicaragua,  and  his  other  acquaintances  among  the 
passengers ;  but  does  not  presume  to  address  Mrs.  Mitchel  (not 
having  been  introduced  to  that  lady),  and  drops  into  the  boat. 

Twelve  o'clock. — Mr.  Wright  was  conducted  by  the  captain 
straight  to  Macnamara's  house  in  the  best  part  of  the  city.  Was 
kindly  received  by  Mr.  James  Mancamara  (his  father  is  now  in 
Melbourne),  is  domiciled  in  the  house  for  the  present,  and, 
instead  of  Wright,  has  become  "  Warren." 

Nicaragua  is  to  take  lodgings  for  the  family.  And  my  friend 
James  Macnamara,  has  gone  out  to  inquire  about  a  ship — any 
ship  bound  either  for  San  Francisco,  Tahiti,  or  the  Sandwich 
Islands. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

July  24th,  1854 — Sydney. — Weather  very  mild  and  bright, 
though  it  is  the  depth  of  winter,  and  the  city  seems  very  cheerful. 
Sydney  is  built  on  a  great  bed  of  sandstone  rock,  and  the  pubUc 
buildings  and  most  of  the  stores  and  private  houses  are  built  of 
this  stone.  From  the  cellars  of  every  house  they  quarry  stone 
enough  to  build  the  walls ;  and  it  gives  the  place  a  Uvely  and 
substantial  appearemce.  The  streets,  also  formed  upon  the  sand- 
stone rock,  are  clean  and  smooth  as  garden  walks.  However,  I 
have  no  notion  of  describing  Sydney.  A  seaport  town  of  80,000 
inhabitants,  and  there  an  end. 

Mr.  Warren  (for  that  is  my  name),  dwelling  peacefully  in  Mr. 
Macnamara's  :  drove  out  this  evening  in  his  carriage,  along  with 
his  wife  and  daughters,  to  the  South  Head,  where  the  hghthouse 
stands.  Climbed  the  lighthouse ;  and,  assuredly,  Warren  has 
never  seen  so  lovely  a  bay  as  this  of  Sydney,  except  Lough 
Swilly,  in  Donegal.  Mr.  James  Macnamara  is  making  inquiries 
about  a  vessel.  If  possible,  he  will  secure  a  passage  for  all  of 
us  in  the  same  ship  ;  but  there  is  no  ship  at  present  laid  on  for 
San  Francisco,  and  there  may  be  none  for  a  month  to  come. 
An  Enghsh  barque,  the  Orkney  Lass,  of  London,  is  about  to  sail 
in  three  or  four  days  for  Honolulu,  in  the  Sandwich  Islands; 
and  once  there,  we  could  find  easy  transit  to  CaUfomia.  On 
inquiry,  we  find  that  the  Orkney  Lass  is  already  full  of  passengers, 
and  the  captain  could  make  room  only  for  one.  I  am  urged  by 
my  friends  here  to  take  this  passage  and  get  clear  out  of  the 
British  colonies  with  all  speed,  seeing  that  Nicaragua  is  for- 
timately  here  to  escort  my  family  to  San  Francisco.  To-morrow 
I  shall  decide. 

July  25th. — ^My  wife  came  to  Mr.  Macnamara's  to  visit  Mr. 
Warren ;  brought  me  a  letter  she  had  received,  before  leaving 
Bothwell,  from  Smith  O'Brien,  very  warmly  congratulating  her 
on  my  escape ;  also  a  letter  from  John  Knox.  She  had  the 
kindest  assistance  from  our  neighbours  of  Bothwell  in  all  her 

340 


Jail  journal  341 

lousiness  arrangements — selling  horses,  and  sheep,  and  so  forth. 
Nant  Cottage  and  farm  are  already  occupied  by  an  English 
gentleman  recently  arrived  in  the  colony,  and  he  took  the 
furniture  at  a  valued  price.  Fleur-de-lis,  our  old  favourite,  is 
sold  to  a  young  lady.  May  her  rack  long  abound  with  hay,  and 
the  oats  never  fail  in  her  manger.  Tricolor  goes  to  Connellan ; 
Donald  to  Dan  Burke ;  Dappel,  the  boy's  little  brown  mare, 
has  been  sold ;  and  Mr.  A.  Reid  promises  to  take  care  of  her 
colt.  I  was  very  fond  of  all  these  horses,  and  hope  to  hear 
sometimes  how  it  fares  with  them,  as  well  as  with  my  human 
friends. 

Mrs.  Mitchel  has  secured  agreeable  rooms  in  a  house  at  Wooloo- 
mooloo,  a  large  suburb  of  Sydney,  which  has  retained  its  out- 
landish native  name. 

A  cabin  passage  is  taken  for  Mr.  Warren  in  the  Orkney  Lass, 
for  Honolulu.  Nicaragua  is  to  bring  on  the  rest  of  the  party  by 
the  next  good  ship  bound  for  San  Francisco  ;  so  that  we  shall  all 
meet  again,  inside  the  Golden  Gate.  An  American  ship,  the 
Julia  Ann,  is  to  sail  from  Melbourne  to  San  Fr<mcisco  in  a  few 
days,  and  to  call  at  Sydney.  If  there  are  berths  enough  un- 
occupied for  the  family,  they  will  come  on  by  that  ship. 

July  28th. — ^Went  to-day  on  board  the  Orkney  Lass,  Captain 
John  Martin.  Difficulty  occurs  about  getting  away,  as  some  of 
the  sailors  have  left  the  ship,  intending  to  go  and  dig  gold  ;  they 
have  been  arrested,  but  there  must  be  legal  proceedings  and  delay. 
Every  hour's  detention  is  perilous  to  me  ;  and  this  difficulty  with 
the  sailors  brings  "  water-police  "  about  the  ship,  a  class  of  men 
whom,  imder  existing  circumstances,  I  do  not  affect.  Mr.  Warren, 
indeed,  walks  about  on  the  poop  coolly,  conversing  agreeably  with 
the  other  passengers ;  yet  he  likes  not  these  water-police. 


None  are  for  me 


Who  look  into  me  with  considerate  eyes. 

This  delay  is  likely  to  last  a  few  days :  so  I  go  ashore  again  to 
Hacnamara's,  and  visit  my  family  at  their  lodgings. 

29/A. — Still  no  prospect  of  lifting  anchor  for  a  day  or  two  longer. 
I  went  on  board  in  the  evening,  found  we  were  not  to  sail ;  re- 
turned on  shore  along  with  a  French  gentleman  who  is  one  of  my 
fellow-passengers,  and  the  captain  ;  went  insanely  to  an  evening 


342  JAIL  JOURNAL 

party,  and  after  that  repaired  with  my  friends  to  an  oyster 
tavern — greatly  to  the  surprise  and  alarm  of  my  friend  James 
Macnamara,  who  watches  over  me  like  my  good  angel. 

Note  that  the  oysters  of  Sydney  .are  good — ^those  of  Hobart 
Town  are  bad. 

Aug.  2nd. — On  board.  The  complement  of  our  crew  is  made 
up.  We  lifted  our  anchor  at  eleven  o'clock.  Very  faint  breeze, 
and  that  rather  against  us.  The  ship  was  to  be  searched  at  the 
Heads — the  last  searching. 

It  is  over.    The  man  five  feet  ten  in  stature,  with  dark 

hair,  was  recognised  by  no  enemy.  We  cleared  the  Heads 
about  four  o'clock ;  and  a  fresh  breeze  sprang  up  from  the 
north  ;  and  now  the  sun  is  setting  beyond  the  blue  mountains  ; 
and  the  coast  of  New  South  Wales,  a  hazy  hne  upon  the  purple 
sea  is  fading  into  a  dream.  Whether  I  ever  was  truly  in  Australia 
at  all,  or  whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body — I  cannot  tell ; 
but  I  have  had  bad  dreams. 

20th. — Nearly  three  weeks  at  sea.  We  approach  Tahiti,  where 
we  discharge  some  cargo  before  proceeding  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  Our  cabin  passengers  are  numerous ;  and,  shades  of 
Bougainville  and  of  James  Cook ! — ^we  carry  four  Enghsh 
actresses  to  the  theatre  of  Honolulu ;  also  an  American  circus- 
rider  to  the  circus  of  that  city.  The  ladies  intend  giving  a  concert 
at  Papeete,  the  town  of  Tahiti,  during  our  short  stay  there  ;  and, 
in  the  meantime,  they  make  the  cabin  nearly  uninhabitable  by 
practising  there  in  the  evenings.  They  are  assured  that  the 
French  officers  and  the  traders  in  the  town  will  give  them  a 
good  house.  A  lady  of  Sydney  and  her  little  girl  going  to  visit 
relatives  at  Tahiti — my  friend,  the  Tahitian  Frenchman,  a 
Malouin  by  birth,  and  by  name  Bonnefin,  gay  and  fiery  young 
Breton,  of  highly  agreeable  manners — a  Mr.  Piatt,  English  com- 
mercial gentleman,  also  young  but  in  bad  health,  going  to  Tahiti, 
partly  for  health,  partly  for  trade — an  American  of  Honolulu  and 
-his  wife — an  Italian,  by  name  Serpentini,  and  his  signora,  who 
is,  indeed,  a  tall,  black-haired,  English  girl — this  is  a  kind  of 
list  of  the  cabin  passengers  of  the  barque  Orkney  Lass. 

Our  voyage  has  been  hke  all  other  voyages.  No  land  in  sight 
anywhere  since  leaving  Sydney,  although  we  passed  within  forty 
miles  of  the  north  point  of  New  Zealand. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  343 

24ih.- — ^Tahiti  is  in  sight,  north-east ;  it  Seems  covered  with 
high  mountains.  On  our  other  bow  Ues  Morea,  an  island  of  the 
same  group,  which  rises  out  of  the  sea  hke  a  mere  cluster  of 
uncouth  and  fantastic  peaks,  presenting  precipices  of  four  or  five 
thousand  feet  high,  some  of  them  overhanging  their  base. 

Before  sunset  we  come  near  enough  to  Tahiti  to  see  clearly 
enough  that  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea  lay  a  belt  of 
woodland :  wherein  as  yet  I  can  distinguish  no  tree  except  the 
plumed  cocoa-nut  palm.  We  he,  this  evening,  becalmed  between 
the  two  islands ;  but  have  yet  to  sail  some  thirty  miles  before 
making  the  coral-bound  harbour  of  Papeete. 

25th. — Off  the  mouth  of  the  harbour.  My  Malouin  friend  is 
vehemently  excited  and  impatient.  He  has  a  valuable  interest 
in  our  cargo  ;  and  that  I  may  be  for  once  instructive,  I  shall  here 
set  down  an  invoice  (as  it  were)  of  his  venture  purchased  at 
Sydney  to  be  sold  at  Tahiti ;  bright-coloured  printed  cahco,  and 
black  satin  and  gorgeous  silks,  for  the  Tahitian  women — rainbow- 
hued  shirts  for  the  men — shoes,  coarse,  huge  and  heavy — rum, 
gin,  brandy,  and  claret.  The  two  last-named  importations  sur- 
prised me  at  first :  for,  why  should  a  French  settlement  take 
the  produce  of  its  own  mother  country  through  an  EngUsh 
colony  ?  But  he  had  got  them  out  of  the  bonded  stores  in 
Sydney — free  of  duty ;  besides,  I  find  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  claret  and  brandy  is  of  those  inferior  and  dubious  sorts 
wherein  Great  Britain  has  a  more  flowing  vintage  than  France. 

The  day  is  profoundly  calm  and  brilliant,  the  sea  without  a 
ripple,  the  sky  without  the  very  downiest  cloud.  But,  between 
us  and  the  island,  we  see  hues  of  huge  breakers,  with  their  foamy 
crests  flashing  white  in  the  sun.  They  burst  upon  the  coral  reefs, 
we  see  houses,  embowered  amongst  palm  and  bread-fruit  trees  : 
one  building,  larger  than  all  others,  is  the  French  Commissariat's 
store :  and  high  up  among  the  thickets  of  the  trees  what  do  I 
behold  ?  A  dome  towering  above  a  high-pillared  colonnade.  I 
address  my  Breton  friend,  and  mquire  what  altar,  or  what  god 
receives  sacrifices  in  that  temple — for  Tahiti,  as  I  had  always 
been  led  to  believe,  is  the  C5rprus  of  these  seas,  and  may  not 
these  be  the  hallowed  porticoes  of  Paphos  or  Arsinoe  ? 

"  That  is  the  theatre,"  said  my  friend,  "  commenced  by  our 
last  governor,  and   still  unfinished."     Wherever  a  very  few 


344  JAIL  JOURMAL 

Frenchtnen  are  gathered  together  there  will  be  a  theatre  in  the 
midst  of  them.  As  a  hotel  is  to  an  American — as  a  church  to  a 
Spaniard — so  is  a  theatre  to  a  Frenchman. 

In  the  harbour  lie  about  a  dozen  vessels — one,  a  rather  shabby 
French  corvette,  the  Moselle.  Pilot  boat  comes  up  to  us.  Pilot, 
a  Frenchman  ;  his  crew  Tahitians.  The  pilot  falls  upon  Bonne- 
fin's  neck,  and  embraces  him  ;  then  tells  him,  "  with  effusion," 
that  edl  is  well  at  home. 

In  the  afternoon,  having  passed  through  an  opening  in  the  reefs, 
we  were  at  anchor.  From  this  point,  We  can  see  more  of  the  low 
ground  of  the  island,  which  is  here  from  one  mile  to  two  miles 
wide,  between  the  sea  and  the  mountains.  It  seems  a  wilderness 
of  verdure.  The  gorges  of  the  moimtains  are  also  wooded  half- 
way up  :  thence,  all  is  bare  and  bleak.  I  ought  to  say  mountain, 
not  mountains — for  all  the  ravines  lead  up  towards,  all  the  ridges 
build  up,  and,  buttress-wise,  support  a  grand  pyramidal  mass, 
tapering  and  towering  to  the  aerial  peak  of  Orohena,  nine  thousand 
feet  high,  imtrodden  yet  by  foot  of  mortal  man.* 

Of  course,  orzinges,  cocoa-nuts,  £ind  bananas  are  brought  on 
board,  and  every  one  makes  a  debauch  on  them.  Mr.  Warren 
goes  ashore  with  the  captain,  accompanied  by  Piatt  the  English- 
man, and  Bonnefin  the  Frenchman.  We  call  at  the  British  Con- 
sul's office  ;  he  is  one  Miller.  Bonnefin  tells  me  he  is  an  un- 
popular and  ill-conditioned  creature,  and,  if  he  knew  me,  would 
probably  endeavour  to  induce  the  French  authorities  here  to 
arrest  me.  They  would  not  comply :  but  still  I  keep  my 
incognito. 

We  walk  along  the  beach,  which  is  also  the  main  street  of 
Papeete  :  meet  hundreds  of  men  and  women — a  tall,  well-made, 
graceful  and  lazy  race.  The  women  have  great  black  eyes,  long, 
smooth  black  hair ;  and  on  every  glossy  head  a  wreath  of  fresh 
flowers.  They  wear  nothing  but  the  farieu,  a  long  robe  of  some 
bright-coloured  fabric  (made  for  them  in  world-clothing  Man- 
chester), gathered  close  round  the  neck,  and  hanging  loose  to  the 

*  The  Tahitians  are  too  lazy  to  climb  mountains,  and  see  no  object  in  it. 
Lieutenant  Wilkes,  of  the  U.S.  Exploring  Expedition,  detached  a  party 
to  climb  Orohena,  for  surveying  and  other  scientific  purposes.  They 
could  only  make  their  way  about  6,000  feet.  Their  Tahitian  guides,  when 
they  arrived  at  a  point  where  the  wild  banana  no  longer  grew,  concluded 
that  Heaven  was  against  further  progress,  and  sat  down.  A  French 
officer  set  out  once  alone,  to  scale  Orohena,  but  never  returned. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  345 

feet  without  even  a  girdle.  I  am  not  reconciled  to  this  dress, 
though  they  generally  have  forms  that  no  barbarity  of  drapery 
can  disguise — nor  to  their  wide  mouths,  though  their  teeth  are 
orient  pearls. 

Cocoa-nut  and  bread-fruit  trees  shade  the  streets  ;  and  the 
mountains  send  down  several  small  streams  of  pure  cold  water. 
French  restaurants  are  numerous ;  and  there  you  have  an 
opportunity  of  mingling  the  cool  Water  with  claret,  a  mixture 
grateful  to  the  seafaring  heart. 

20th.- — Our  singing  women  gave  a  concert  last  night  in  a  public 
room.  It  was  a  failure.  Neither  Governor  Pages  nor  any  of  the 
French  officers  attended,  owing,  it  is  said,  to  a  failure  of  etiquette 
on  the  part  of  the  mellifluous  ladies — they  had  sent  no  com- 
plimentary tickets.  Most  of  the  audience  were  Tahitian  women, 
in  rainbow  parieus  and  exuberant  chaplets  of  scarlet  hibiscus 
flowers.  Two  daughters  an4  a  little  son  of  Queen  Pomare  were 
present — the  son  a  most  beautiful  boy.  The  Queen  lives  in  a 
large  cottage  in  the  village,  kept  up  for  her  by  the  French  Govern- 
ment, and  came  herself  last  night,  and  mingled  with  the  crowd  at 
the  door  of  the  singing-house.  M.  Bonnefin  brought  me  out,  and 
presented  me  to  her  Majesty,  a  large  bare-footed  woman  of  about 
forty-five.  She  can  scarcely  speak  a  word  of  English,  or  French 
either,  and  excused  herself  from  coming  in  by  the  simple  mono- 
syllables, "  No  dress." 

A  splendid  sixty-gun  frigate,  Le  Forte,  came  in  here  yesterday, 
carrying  a  French  admiral.  Two  or  three  days  ago  also  appeared 
a  small  war  steamer,  the  Phoque.  So  the  place  is  full  of  officers 
and  sailors.  The  permanent  garrison  of  the  station  consists  of  a 
body  of  gens  d'armes.  But  it  is  said  that  a  larger  French  estab- 
lishment is  shortly  to  be  kept  in  the  Pacific  ;  and  that  these 
ships  are  to  be  followed  by  three  others,  all  destined  for  some 
service  yet  unknown.  New  Caledonia,  or  the  Fiji  islands,  are 
supposed  to  be  the  object. 

31s/. — ^Went  with  M.  Bonnefin  to  visit  the  frigate.  We  were 
shown  politely  over  the  ^hip  by  a  lieutenant ;  saw  a  lithograph 
portrait  of  the  Empress  Eugenie  in  the  admiral's  cabin,  and  drank 
eau  Sucre  with  the  officers. 

Every  morning  Mr.  Warren  goes  with  the  captain,  M.  Bonnefin, 
and  young  Derby  the  American  circus-rider,  to  bathe  in  the  Fow- 


346  JAIL  JOURNAL 

towa  River,  a  fine  dashing  limpid  stream,  almost  overarched  by 
palm,  orange,  breadfruit,  lime,  and  guava  trees. 

September  ^th. — Hired  a  horse,  and  rode  with  M.  Bonnefin  up 
the  valley,  or  rather  ravine,  that  brings  down  the  Fowtowa  from 
the  mountains.    For  the  first  two  miles  there  was  nothing  but  a 
wilderness  of  guava  (a  most  noxious  root-spreading  tree  that 
chokes  all  other  vegetation,  and  has  made  wilderness  of  much 
land  which  was  once  cultivated  for  taro)  ;  through  and  through 
this  forest  roved  myriads  of  hogs,  the  principal  live  stock  of  the 
Tahitians,  devouring  oranges,  cocoa-nuts,  and  guavas.    All  this 
level  groimd,  M.  Bonnefin  tells  me,  was  once  in  cultivation,  when 
the  island  was  ten  times  as  populous,  wealthy,  and  contented  as 
it  is  now  (before  civilisation  overtook  it)  ;  but  ever  since  Euro- 
peans have  infested  the  place,  the  inhabitants  have  grown  Icizy 
and  they  are  at  present  under  solemn  engagements  to  their 
respective  chiefs  not  to  work  more  than  needful  to  support  them- 
selves— and  this  is  very  little — ^while  the  French  or  any  other 
foreign  nation  hold  the  island.    The  consequence  is,  that  all 
stores  for  this  naval  station  must  be  brought  from  America. 
The  French,  however,  to  do  them  justice,  hardly  interfere  with  the 
natives  at  all,  do  not  take  possession  of  their  lands,  nor  enforce 
them  to  adopt  any  of  the  usages  of  European  life,  nor  compel 
them  to  labour  and  till  the  ground.     If  the  English  or  Americans 
were  here  in  their  place,  the  poor  brown  fellows  would  surely  be 
compelled  to  labour,  to  read  EngUsh,  to  say  their  catechism,  and 
raise  produce  for  their  masters,  or  their  brown  backs  would  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  civiUsing  cat-o'-nine-tails. 

But  long  before  the  French  took  Tahiti,  the  missionaries  had 
nearly  turned  it  into  a  desert  and  a  pandemonium.  The  vices 
and  diseases  of  Christendom  had  worn  down  the  population  to  a 
shadow  :  and  such  agriculture  as  the  creatures  carried  on  had 
been  ruined  by  the  introduction  of  execrable  guava  :  for  that  also 
is  a  gift  of  the  missionaries,  as  well  as  "  rum  and  true  religion." 

As  we  rode  up  the  valley,  the  guava  disappeared,  but  the 
stately  bread-fruit  tree,  with  its  green  knobs  about  the  size  of  a 
baby's  head,  was  frequent  in  our  path  ;  and  the  orange  and  lime 
trees,  dark  as  sepulchral  yew,  threw  a  black  shadow  on  the  pools 
of  the  river.  The  ridges  of  the  hill  rose  high  and  steep  on  either 
side ;   and,  in  the  windings  of  the  gorge,  we  seemed  sometimes 


JAIL  JOURNAL  347 

walled  round  by  mountains.  We  tied  our  horses  to  a  tree,  and 
went  down  (for  such  is  Warren's  uniform  custom)  to  sit  on  the 
river's  bank,  and  listen  to  its  narcotic  murmuring.  Here,  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  garden-bower  of  these  romantic  South  Sea 
isles,  Mr.  Warren's  mind  reverted  to  Queen  Oberea  and  her 
dusky  houris,  with  their  aprons  of  tappa  and  too  hospitable 
manners.  Oberea  for  so  euphonious  mariners  named  the  regnant 
Pomar^  of  those  palmy  days — ^unhappy  and  too-confiding  queen  ! 
— ^why  took  she  ever  to  her  brown  heart  that  wicked  Christian, 
Sir  Joseph  ?  Infelix  regina  !  The  Phoenician  Elissa  never  was 
so  deceived  by  pious  iEneas.  Her  fair  isles  are  an  unpeopled 
desert,  isles 

WHose  air  is  balm,  whose  ocean  spreads 
O'er  coral  rocks  and  amber  beds. 

And  her  degenerate  descendant,  arrayed  in  satin  of  Lyons,  drinks 
too  much  wine  of  Bordeaux.  In  a  nook  of  the  rock  here,  by  the 
river,  where  Oberea  and  her  nymphs  were  wont  to  bathe,  I  find 
three  empty  bottles,  bearing  on  a  label  the  legend,  "  Bass's  Pale 
Ale."  O,  Bass,  boimdless  bottler  of  beer,  thy  name  and  thy 
liquor  pervade  the  globe  :  thou  hzst  built  thyself  a  monument 
more  enduring  than  brass  in  the  quenched  thirst  of  all  kindreds, 
and  tongues,  and  nations.  The  Australian  shepherd  blesses,  as 
he  unwinds  the  clasping  wire  from  thy  bottle's  burly  neck  :  Dutch 
boer  on  karroo  of  Southern  Africa  feels  his  thirst  assuaged  in 
advance  at  very  sight  of  thy  label  of  blue.  These  eyes  have  seen 
thy  cork,  erst  hammered  down  in  that  bottling-store  of  London, 
leap  up  towards  the  Southern  Cross  and  startle  the  opossum  on 
his  lofty  branch  in  Van  Diemen's  Land  forests — here,  too,  that 
bounding  cork  has  overtopped  the  plumes  of  the  loftiest  palm — 
this  quiet  dell  of  the  Poljmesian  Fowtowoa  has  witnessed  liba- 
tions to  thy  nutnen,  to  thy  power  and  thy  genius ;  and  the 
slumbering  echoes  of  Orohena  have  been  awaked  by  thy  good 
report. 

My  companion,  Bonnefin,  is  a  handsome,  agreeable,  high- 
spirited  young  Breton.  He  knows  who  Mr.  Warren  is,  and  takes 
much  interest  in  learning  all  the  details  of  that  gentleman's 
escape  and  adventures.  We  rode  down,  and  dined  at  a  restaurant 
under  Bonnefin's  special  patronage,  on  fowl  a  la  mayonnaise. 

Sunday    Evening. — Strolled    up    with    Bonnefin    to    Queen 


348  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Pomare's  palace  or  cottage.  It  has  been  a  gala  evening.  The 
admiral  and  governor  are  in  the  queen's  verandah  ;  the  delight- 
ful band  of  the  frigate  playing  polkas  and  schottisches.  The 
maids  of  honour  (of  whom  there  are  six  or  eight,  all  in  pure 
white  parieus,  with  flowers  radiant  in  their  dark  hair),  and  scores 
of  other  Tahitian  maidens,  some  of  them  splendidly  dressed,  were 
dancing  on  the  lawn  in  front  with  the  young  French  officers.  Mr. 
Warren  is  pained  to  say  that  the  feet  of  the  girls  are  broad ; 
figures  otherwise  faultless,  eyes  supernatural,  and  the  carriage  of 
the  head  and  neck,  of  that  proud  and  fierce  beauty  that  you  see 
in  the  bearing  of  the  desert  panther. 

When  the  dusk  came  on,  the  governor  and  admiral  retired  from 
the  scene,  but  the  amusement  then  only  commenced.  Bonnefin, 
Warren,  and  Piatt  made  their  way  from  the  verandah  to  the 
presence-chamber,  where  we  were  instantly  recognised  by  the 
king — that  is  to  say,  the  present  man,  for  Pomare  has  had  four, 
some  of  whom  are  alive ;  and  indeed  one  of  them  was  present , 
this  evening,  a  huge  fat  Polynesian,  now  known  as  the  King  of 
Bola-bola,  and  the  husband,  ad  interim,  of  the  queen  of  that 
dependent  island.  Queen  Pomare's  present  husband  (as  in 
reason  he  ought)  is  the  handsomest  man  in  the  island.  I  had 
met  him  before,  and  he  had  shown  me,  with  much  pride,  a  gold 
watch  and  several  other  French  presents  which  governors  and 
admirals  had  given  him.  On  this  Sunday  evening,  however, 
being  a  grand  reception  evening,  I  hardly  knew  my  friend  ;  for 
he  was  dressed  in  a  close-fitting,  heavily-laced,  tremendously- 
epauletted  French  military  blue  coat,  and  wore  a  field-officer's  hat 
with  a  crimson  plume  like  a  cocoa-nut  palm.  But  when  the 
great  men  went  away,  and  his  majesty  saw  us  in  the  room,  he 
instantly  threw  off  his  coat,  for  coolness,  and  swinging  about  at 
his  ease,  invited  us  to  a  side-table  in  the  presence-chamber, 
where  we  found  as  fine  sherry  as  ever  entered  the  lips  of  Mr. 
Warren.  Queen  Pomare,  in  a  -parieu  of  green  satin,  looking  very 
grand,  and  as  sober  as  she  could,  occupied  a  kind  of  large  arm- 
chair, which,  I  suppose,  is  called  her  throne.  Her  white-robed 
maids  of  honour  were  flitting  about,  trjdng  to  hammer  out  a 
few  words  of  French  or  English  to  their  numerous  admirers  ; 
and  the  discarded  prince-consort,  now  king  of  Bola-bola,  seemed 
on  excellent  terms  with  the  present  man. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  349 

Sept.  nth. — The  Tahitian  cargo  of  the  Orkney  Lass  is  dis- 
charged. She  is  drawn  out  from  her  wharf,  and  to-morrow  we 
weigh  anchor  for  the  Sandwich  islands. 

12th. — ^The  pilot  came  on  board  to  take  us  out,  but  it  is  a 
dead  calm.    We  cannot  stir  till  to-morrow. 

13/A. — ^This  morning  a  barque  was  reported  in  sight,  outside 
the  reefs — an  American  barque  ;  and,  as  I  was  on  shore  with  M, 
Bonnefin,  I  heard  various  speculations  as  to  what  she  might  be. 
She  seemed  crowded  with  passengers  ;  and  one  man  said  he  knew 
her  to  be  the  Jtdia  Ann.  The  name  aroused  me.  I  took  a  glass, 
and  soon  saw  that  she  was  lying  off,  with  no  intention  to  enter 
the  harbour.  Soon  a  boat  put  off  from  her  side,  and  came  into 
the  opening  of  the  reefs.  Anxiously  I  watched  the  boat ;  and 
while  it  was  still  a  mile  off  I  recognised  one  of  my  own  boys 
sitting  in  the  bow,  and  Nicaragua  beside  him.  They  have  come 
for  me. 

7  o'clock,  p.m. — On  board  the  Julia  Ann — I  transhipped  my- 
self, of  course,  immediately — ^within  an  hour  after  the  boat 
appeared,  I  set  foot  on  the  deck  of  an  American  ship,  and  took  off 
my  hat  in  homage  to  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  Here,  then,  Mr. 
Blake,  Mr.  Macnamara,  Mr.  Wright,  and  Mr.  Warren,  have  all 
become  once  more  plain  John  Mitchel.  I  am  surrounded  by 
my  family,  all  well ;  we  are  away  before  a  fine  breeze  for  San 
Francisco  ;  my  "  Jail  Journal "  ends,  and  my  "  Out-of-Jail 
Journal "  begins. 

24th. — ^The  southern  constellations  go  down  behind  the  globe, 
and  I  hail  once  more  the  North  Pole  Star  and  Charles's  Wain. 
After  long  syncope,  and  five  years'  sleep  of  nightmare  dreams, 
life  begins  again. 

We  were  made  as  comfortable  on  board  the  Julia  Ann  as  the 
narrowness  of  the  accommodation  and  the  crowd  of  passengers 
admit.  Capt.  Davis,  of=  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  is  our 
commander,  and  the  owner,  Mr.  Pond,  of  New  York,  is  also 
on  board.  The  passengers  and  crew  are  all  Americans,  and 
already  I  feel  almost  a  citizen. 

Oct.  gth. — ^We  sail,  in  company  with  a  fleet  of  merchantmen 
into  the  long-wished-for  Gate  of  Gold  ;  Nicaragua  and  I  go  ashore, 
and  immediately  search  for  our  worthy  comrade,  MacManus  ; 
learn  that  he  is  fifty  miles  out  of  town,  at  San  Jose  ;  wHere  he 


350  JAIL  JOURNAL 

has  a  ranch — ^but  find  ourselves  surrounded  by  troops  of 
friends. 

Nov.  1st. — ^Three  weeks  in  California.  We  have  been  the  guests 
of  the  city  ;  and  more  than  princely  are  the  hospitalities  of  the 
Golden  City  ;  we  have  spent  a  week  at  San  Jos6  ;  cantered  through 
the  oak-openings  at  the  base  of  the  coast-range,  and  penetrated 
the  Santa  Cruz  gap,  amongst  wooded  mountains,  where  our  senses 
were  regaled  with  the  fragrance  of  pine  woods — ^unfelt  for  five 
years.  MacManus  has  spent  all  his  time  with  us,  talking  of 
scenes  new  and  old.  My  wife  has  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
her  long  Pacific  voyage,  and  Nicaragua  and  I  have  been  feasted 
at  the  grandest  of  banquets,  presided  over  by  the  Governor  of 
the  State. 

We  are  now  on  board  the  steamship  Cortez,  boimd  for  New 
York,  by  the  Nicaragua  route  ;  have  bidden  farewell  to  MacManus, 
our  old  friend,  and  to  hundreds  of  new  friends,  and  are  steaming 
again  out  between  the  bare  hills  that  form  the  piers  of  the  Golden 
Gate.  In  less  than  a  month  I  shall  see  my  mother,  my  brother 
and  sisters,  and  Reilly,  mine  ancient  comrade,  and  Meagher,  and 
Dillon,  and  O'Gorman,  and  Michael  Doheny,  that  devoted  rebel, 
and  the  whole  band  of  refugees — shall  mutually  hear  and  tell  of 
all  our  good  and  evil  fortunes  since  the  fatal  and  accursed  '48  ; 
and  together  consult  the  oracles  whether  that  black  night  is  ever 
to  know  a  morning. 

13/A; — After  coasting  along  the  mountainous  coast  of  Lower 
California,  and  Guatemala,  and  passing  the  pirate-ship  Caroline, 
whose  destination  all  our  passengers  seem  to  know,  we  have 
entered  a  small  crescent-shaped  bay,  with  a  few  wooden  houses 
at  the  head  of  it,  San  Juan  del  Sur.  Here  we  wait  all  day  till  a 
sufficient  number  of  mules  are  brought  together  to  convey 
such  a  multitude  across  to  the  Nicaragua  Lake,  fifteen  miles. 
At  length  we  start ;  I  carrying  my  little  daughter  on  the 
saddle  before  me — two  gentlemen  kindly  taking  charge  of 
two  others  of  the  children.  We  are  now  on  board  the  lake 
steamer  at  Virgin  Bay. 

14/A — Castilla  Rapids. — Yesterday  we  traversed  the  Lake, 
about  ninety  miles  from  Virgin  Bay  to  the  outlet  of  the  San 
Juan  River — a  vast  and  lovely  lake,  surrounded  with  untamable 
forests,  and  here  and  there  a  lofty  mountain  peak.    Thus  far  we 


JAIL  JOURNAL  351 

have  come  down  in  the  lake  steamer ;  but  here  rapids  occur, 
where  a  transfer  must  be  made ;  a  walk  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
and  re-embarkation  on  another  steamer  below  the  rapids.  We 
are  housed  in  a  most  comfortless  hotel  for  the  night. 

i^th. — ^This  morning  we  floated  down  the  San  Juan  to  its 
mouth,  on  the  Atlantic  side.  It  is  a  rapid,  full,  and  powerful 
stream,  bordered  close  to  the  water's  edge,  not  by  hedges,  but  by 
high  walls  of  most  luxuriant  tropical  foliage ;  the  lofty  trees 
bound  together  and  festooned  by  all  manner  of  trailing  vines, 
making  the  whole  a  chaotic  mass  of  almost  sohd  verdure.  No 
living  thing  but  alligators,  wallowing  in  the  shallow  water,  and 
occasionally  diving  when  gently  titillated  by  a  ball  from  a 
revolver.  At  last,  we  glide  into  the  calm  expanse  of  the  bay  of 
San  Juan  del  Norte,  called  by  its  English  "  protectors  "  Grey- 
town,  after  an  illustrious,  but  roguish  statesman,  of  the  name  of 
Grey.  The  town  stretches  and  straggles  about  a  mile  along  the 
shore,  backed  by  wooded  heights ;  seems  to  contain  sixty  or 
seventy  houses,  and  one  or  two  large  hotels.*  We  come  ashore, 
and  the  Prometheus,  our  Atlantic  steamer,  not  having  yet  arrived, 
we  secure  with  difficulty,  at  an  extortionate  price,  two  bed-rooms 
in  Lyon's  Hotel,  a  large  wooden  house.  Lyon  is  an  American  ; 
and  indeed,  all  the  good  houses  in  the  place  seem  to  be  American  ; 
but  there  are  also  some  Englishmen,  and  a  few  French.  The 
non-arrival  of  the  Prometheus  seems  to  these  people  an  inter- 
position of  Providence  in  their  behalf,  because  they  have  seven 
hundred  passengers  deUvered  over  to  their  tender  mercies,  to 
treat  them  at  discretion,  and  mulct  them  as  much  as  they  will 
bear.f 

The  British  have  never,  it  seems,  formally  given  up  their  pro- 
tectorate of  the  Mosquito  "  kingdom  "  and  its  Sambo  sovereign. 
A  flagstaff  stands  here,  with  a  piece  of  bunting  flying  therefrom, 

*  All  blown  to  atoms  now,  burned  down,  reduced  to  ashes,  and  the  ashes 
scattered  on  the  wind — ^razed,  trampled,  sown  with  salt,  and  become  even 
as  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  by  reason  of  the  impious  irreverence  of  some  of 
the  inhabitants  thereof  towards  one  Solon  Borland,  august  representative 
of  a  first-rate  Power. 

t  A  certain  amount  of  punishment  these  Greytown  people  assuredly 
deserved  for  their  uneatable  dinners  and  their  extortion  :  but  the  human 
mind,  even  of  one  who  has  suffered  by  their  practices,  would,  perhaps, 
have  been  satisfied  with  some  less  condign  and  sig^nal  vengeance  than  that 
which  has  fallen  upon  th^na, 


352  JAIL  JOURNAL 

displajdng  in  the  corner  the  Union  Jack,  and  on  the  field  some 
device  representing  the  sovereignty  of  the  most  gracious  GalU- 
nipper,  who  holds  his  court,  and  drinks  as  much  rum  as  he  can 
get  credit  for,  at  Bluefields,  a  place  near  the  coast,  north  of 
Greytown.  But  there  is  a  sort  of  municipal  government  estab- 
lished in  the  town  ;  the  Mayor  being  an  American ;  and  the 
British  never  interfere  now  with  the  domestic  concerns  of  Grey- 
town.  It  is  an  anomalous  species  of  government ;  for  the  ground 
undoubtedly  belongs  to  the  State  of  Nicaragua  ;  and  Greytown, 
in  its  present  condition  must,  ere  long,  breed  quarrels.' 

It  was  here  that  an  EngUsh  ship  fired  into  the  Prometheus,  two 
or  three  years  ago,  while  insisting  on  the  payment  of  harbour  dues, 
payable  by  the  American  steamer  in  Greytown,  as  a  British  port  ; 
and  although  the  dues  are  not  now  levied  or  claimed,  yet  it  will 
depend  entirely  on  England's  convenience  and  strength,  whether 
and  how  soon,  they  may  be  demanded  again.  In  the  meantime, 
to  maintain  a  foothold  on  the  soil  of  Central  America,  the  Down- 
ing Street  men  keep  up  the  protectorate,  and,  as  if  to  mock  at 
American  Republicanism,  they  insist  on  a  poor,  diseased,  abject, 
drunken,  idiot  Indian,  being  called  his  majesty  the  king.  Great 
is  the  assertion  of  a  principle  ! 

1.6th. — The  Prometheus  arrived  this  evening,  but  will  not  take 
us  on  board  till  to-morrow.  So,  the  innkeepers  of  Greytown  are 
to  have  twenty-four  hours'  harvest  more.  We  keep  our  rooms  in 
Lyon's  Hotel,  but  can  neither  eat  nor  drink  there.  By  researches 
in  the  town,  we  have  found  a  little  restaurant,  adorned  all  round 
with  uncouth  pictures,  kept  by  a  Frenchman,  who  makes  eatable 
omelettes,  gives  a  good  dinner,  and  keeps  good  claret.* 

One  other  night,  then,  with  the  inexorable  mosquitoes  of 
Greytown. 

•  It  would  be  pleasing  to  think  that  our  hospitable  Frenchman's  wooden 
shanty  had  been  spared  in  the  late  sack,  even  as  the  house  of  Pindar  was, 
in  the  bombardment  of  Thebes.  But  one  can  scarce  dare  to  hope  this. 
No  ;  Captain  HoUins's  avenging  boats'  crews  have  devoured  his  poultry, 
and  washed  down  his  omelettes  with  his  claret,  or  with  as  much  thereof  as 
they  could  hold.  Then  they  put  a  torch  to  his  picture  gallery  ;  and 
brought  his  roof-tree  crashing  down  amidst  his  broken  bottles.  Behold 
the  fate  of  those  who  refuse  to  pay  dollars,  and  make  apologies  to  a  first- 
rate  Power !  The  sailors,  and  marines,  however,  though  all  the  other 
formalities  of  a  sack  were  quickly  complied  with,  did  not  slay  the  men  or 
ravish  the  women  (which,  perhaps,  their  crimes  had  deserved),  for,  in  fact, 
they  fled  into  the  wood?  whenever  tjie  batteries  first  opened, 


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CHAPTER    XXVI 

November  i8th,  1853- — Greytown. — ^To-day  a  small  steamer  came 
across  the  bay,  about  a  mile  from  "  Vanderbilt  Town  " — a  town 
which  seems  to  consist  of  one  building  and  a  wharf.  At  one  trip 
it  brought  over  all  the  New  York  passengers,  and  transferred  them 
to  the  Prometheus.  Then  it  returned  to  Greytown,  and  carried 
away  those  bound  for  New  Orleans,  who  were  to  proceed  thither 
by  another  steamer,  moored  close  by  the  Prometheus.  On  this 
second  steamer's  stem  I  read  the  word  Pampero.  An  American 
gentleman  was  standing  by  me,  and  to  him  I  said  "  Pampero ! 
The  name  is  familiar  in  my  ear — ^was  not  this  the  ship  that " 

"  That  carried  the  Argonauts,"  he  said,  "  who  sailed  to  win 
the  Golden  Fleece  of  the  Antilles,  but  found  there  a  stormy 
Medea." 

"  Yes  ;  the  days  of  heroic  emprise  are  not  yet  ended  for  ever- 
more. Gorgeous  Tragedy  can  still  sweep  over  the  earth  in 
sceptred  pall,  or  unsceptred.  Cuba  may  be  as  Colchis,  and  the 
thing  which  hath  been  is  the  thing  which  shall  be.  But  who 
was  that  compatriot  of  yours — for  I  forget  his  name— who, 
being  ordered  to  turn  his  back,  and  kneel  down  to  be  shot  by 
Spanish  soldiers,  made  answer  that  he  would  stand  erect,  and 
face  his  death  '  like  an  American  ?  '  " 

"  Crittenden — as  brave  a  man  as  ever  fell  in  a  good  cause.  His 
blood,  and  the  blood  of  his  fifty  comrades,  will  hardly  sink  into 
the  earth  under  Atares  Castle  (you  will  see  Atares  Castle  in  three 
or  four  days),  and  bear  no  fruit.  Even  as  your  Greek  tragedies 
generally  went  in  trilogies.  Ate  chasing  Wrong,  and  slaughter 
breeding  slaughter,  so  that  gallant  blood  will  fructify  a  hundred- 
fold ere  the  end  come.    Cuba  is  bound  to  come  in." 

"  After  all,"  I  asked,  "  have  the  Americans  a  right  to  Cuba  ?  " 

"  No  ;  but  the  Cubans  have  a  right  to  Cuba,  even  as  the  Irish 
have  a  right  to  Ireland ;  and  Spain  holds  it  against  the  right 
owners  with  a  monstrous  garrison,  as  England  holds  Ireland 
against  you.    Would  a  filibuster  expedition  of  Americans  to 

23  353 


354  JA^L  JOURNAL 

Ireland,  to  aid  you  and  your  friends  in  driving  out  the  British, 
appear  to  you  an  act  of  piracy  and  robbery  ?  " 

"  Oh,  heaven  !  an  apostleship — a  mission  of  redemption  and  sal- 
vation. But  in  truth  I  read  of  that  Cuba  enterprise  only  in 
British  newspapers,  and  during  my  bondage  amongst  Britons. 
A  British  atmosphere  surrounded  me,  and  it  sorely  refracted  and 
deflected  every  ray  that  came  to  me  from  the  outer  world.  All 
with  whom  I  held  converse  were  British  colonists ;  and  their 
mouths  were  full  of  cursing  and  bitterness  against  the  American 
'  pirates ' ;  and  they  rejoiced  over  the  defeat,  and  gloated  over 
the  garotte.  Yet,  I  knew  how  Cuba  was  governed,  and  in- 
stinctively I  felt,  even  there,  that  the  cause  of  Lopez  was 
righteous — that  the  blood  shed  at  Atares  was  real  martjn:- 
blood,  of  the  sort  which  germinates." 

My  Califomian  friend  was  silent  a  while,  and  then  merely  said 
— "  We  call  at  Havana,  to  take  coal  on  board,  within  four  days. 
You  shall  see  a  beauteous  and  stately  city,  destined  to  be  the 
southern  centre  of  American  commerce,  as  New  York  is  the 
northern." 

Evening. — ^All  on  board  the  Prometheus  (Captain  Churchill), 
but  she  does  not  lift  anchor  till  to-morrow. 

igth. — I  have  got  some  European  news  brought  by  the  Pro- 
metheus— news  hardly  more  than  three  weeks  old  at  London  and 
Paris.  I  approach  neeirer  and  nearer  to  the  great  centres  of  the 
world's  business,  and  begin  to  feel  the  beating  of  its  heart.  For 
nearly  six  years  I  have  been  shivering  at  the  extremities,  where- 
imto  slender  capillaries  brought  but  trickling  drops  of  hfe,  where 
the  systole  and  diastole  could  hardly  be  felt  to  throb  ;  and  where 
the  old  Earth  "  o'er  the  embers  covered  and  cold,"  borne  in 
ships  from  far-off  fires,  has  to  warm  her  frosty  fingers. 

The  above  reflection  is  partly  nonsense,  yet  not  all  nonsense. 
The  pen  of  scribbling  mortals  nmning  recklessly  in  chase  of  a 
metaphor,  plunges,  but  too  often,  unwarily,  into  the  quagmire  of 
balderdash.  For  at  the  antipodes,  also,  and  the  Ultima  Thule, 
life  glows  and  passion  bums.  Wherever  the  heart  of  a  man  beats 
and  his  brain  works,  there  is,  to  him,  the  centre  of  the  universe. 
The  world  has  no  common  pulse  and  circulation,  neither  do  the 
extremities  thereof  borrow  life  from  any  metropohtan  heart,  or 
through  any  central  grand-trunk  aorta  :  for  it  is  written,  "  The 


JAIL  JOURNAL  355 

masses  do  indeed  consist  of  units,  and  in  every  unit,  a  heart 
beating."  So,  even  in  that  shady  Clyde-valley,  which  turns  its 
back  to  the  "  Great  Powers,"  and  slopes  towards  the  Antarctic 
Circle — ^if  there  be  a  hundred  men  and  women,  there  are  a 
hundred  worlds. 

Nevertheless,  I  am  glad  to  meet  here  so  late  intelligence  from 
Europe — and  what  portentous  and  thundering  news  it  is  !  —The 
Czar  is  up.  His  long-nursed  designs  on  Turkey  are,  in  his  imperial 
opinion,  ripe  ;  and  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  Greek  Christians, 
and  gain  them  access  to  their  holy  places  on  fair  terms,  his  imperial 
majesty  has  moved  his  troops  across  the  Sereth ;  they  have 
occupied  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  and  are  swarming  on  the 
Danube.  Before  those  troops  retire  again,  the  nations  will  see  a 
good  time.  Magnificent  Czar  !  I  bow  to  thee  in  grateful  homage. 
After  years  of  tranced  sleep  in  darkness  and  cold  obstruction,  as 
I  cross  this  isthmus  threshold  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  and 
the  Old  Atlantic  dashes  at  my  feet  once  more,  thy  bugle,  O  Czar ! 
blown  upon  the  Danube,  comes  to  me  like  a  morning  salutation, 
and  sounds  the  reveille  to  a  dreaming  earth.  No  more  musical 
matin-song  did  ever  Memnon  (let  alone  the  lark)  sing  to  the 
rising  sun. 

Now  for  the  protocols !  Now,  will  couriers  gallop,  and  tele- 
garphic  wires  be  taught  their  lesson.  Not  so  much  to  keep  the 
Czar  out  of  Constantinople  (though  that  were  something),  as  to 
smother  in  its  cradle  this  blessed  war  of  the  Lord,  the  devil  will 
employ  all  his  plenipotentiaries  ;  he  will  send  forth  his  diabolic 
diplomats  to  fly  abroad  over  the  whole  earth,  and,  for  a  time,  men 
will  breathe  an  atmosphere  of  lies  and  fraud.  For,  assuredly  the 
commercial  powers  of  Europe  will  now  put  forth  their  very  utter- 
most resources  of  diplomacy  to  confine  this  war,  to  hem  it  in,  to 
draw  a  cordon  around  it,  to  let  it  bum  itself  out  within  a  ring- 
fence,  while  the  general  interests  of  civihsation  and  commerce 
hold  on  the  even  tenor  of  their  way.  But  there  are  good  men  on 
the  earth  who  will  have  strength  given  unto  them,  as  I  trust,  to 
baffle  all  the  wiles  and  assaults  of  the  devil.  I  have  not  heard  yet 
where  Kossuth  is  now — probably  still  in  England.  Louis  Kos- 
suth I  He  of  the  aquilme  eye,  and  a  nose  (like  behemoth's)  that 
pierceth  through  snares — ^how  beats  the  more  than  imperial  heart 
of  the  great  ex-govemor  now  ?    Keenly  and  passionately  that 


356  JAIL  JOURNAL 

glowing  eye  must  be  darting  over  Europe  and  Asia,  measuring 
the  forces  of  kings,  and  taking  note  what  signs  of  life  show  them- 
selves in  the  people.  He  must  see  that  this  war — if  the  Czar 
have  indeed  resolved  on  war — must  spread ;  that  the  tyrant  of 
Hapsburg,  who  lies  heavy  on  Hungary  and  Italy,  must  take  part 
in  it ;  that  France  and  England  will  be  goaded  or  dragged  into 
it,  though  doubtless  (at  least  on  England's  part),  after  long 
delays  and  reluctant  diplomatic  wrigglings — for  the  British  lion 
does  not  like  now  to  come  to  the  scratch,  except  with  black 
savages  or  Burmese  ;  that  the  Five  Powers  will  be  no  longer  an 
united  "  Pentarchy,"  or  happy  family ;  and  that  so  debt  will 
grow,  and  immortal  Bankruptcy,  like  Deus  ex  machind,  will  at 
last  step  forth  and  settle  Europe.  Governor  Kossuth  does  not 
get  much  sleep  these  latter  nights. 

In  garrets  in  London,  Brussels,  New  York,  this  news  must  re- 
fresh many  a  weary  exile.  Blanc  and  RoUin,  Cavaignac  and 
Victor  Hugo,  Garibaldi  and  Avezzana — their  names  rise  to  my 
lips  like  a  litany.  And  I  see  before  me,  in  vision,  Guiseppe  Maz- 
zini,  with  his  lofty  brow  and  pensive  eye,  shadowed  by  many  a 
doleful  memory,  of  the  murdered  Menotti,  and  the  mangled 
Maroncelli,  and  the  youthful  brothers  Bandiera  betrayed  to  their 
death,  and  the  Langelotti  pining  on  the  rocks  of  Caprea,  and  the 
noble  struggle  of  those  last  of  Romans  in  fatal  '48.  "  Italian 
Unity  "  may  well,  up  to  the  present  hour,  bear  its  emblem,  the 
cypress  branch  ;  but  now  Mazzini  looks  up  again,  with  hope 
chastened  by  doubt  and  sorrow.  O,  triumvir  !  is  this  dawning 
hope  also  to  fade  in  another  evening  shadow  of  despair  ?  Is  this 
to  end  but  in  another  Ramiorno  expedition  ?  another  Carbonaro 
conspiracy  ?  another  Bandiera  treason  ?  another  Roman  carnage  ? 
Mazzini  knows  not ;  but  one  thing  he  knows — if  the  neck  of  this 
foul  European  "  peace  "  be  once  broken,  the  cypress  branch  of 
Yoimg  Italy  will  be  reared  again,  and  the  resolute  watchword, 
Ora  e  sempre  shall  ring  along  the  Apennine. 

I  dwell  to-night  on  the  hopes  and  fears  of  these  foreign  lands, 
and  am  afraid  to  breathe  the  name  of  Ireland,  or  to  write  it 
down,  even  in  my  secret  tablets,  as  the  name  of  one  of  the 
nations  that  have  a  destiny  to  achieve,  and  wrongs  (how  match- 
less and  how  bitter !)  to  avenge.  Yet,  what  is  Italy  to  me  ? 
and  what  have  I  to  do  with  Hungary  ?    Does  Ireland  still  live  ? 


JAIL  JOURNAL  357 

Will  anything — will  the  trump  of  doom  itself,  awaken  Ireland  ? 
Or  can  it  be,  that  Ireland  is  indeed  "  improving  and  contented," 
as  the  London  papers  say,  glad  to  be  rid  of  her  noxious  agitators  ; 
and  now,  as  she  breathes  again,  after  the  sore  dispensation  of 
the  famine,  is  she  indeed  contrite  and  subdued  under  the  chasten- 
ing hand  of  Providence  and  England.  I  shall  not  know  the  very 
truth  of  all  this  till  I  arrive  at  New  York,  and  almost  I  dread  to 
hear  the  truth.  For  I  know,  that  after  five  or  six  years'  brooding 
in  bondage,  l5dng  down  every  night  in  stifled  wrath  and  shame  ; 
rising  up  each  morning  with  an  imprecation — a  returning  exile 
is  prone  to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  all  this  to  the  world,  to 
his  country,  even  to  himself.  How  can  I  expect  to  find  men  in 
New  York,  though  they  be  banished  Irishmen,  too  ;  or  in  Ireland, 
though  they  be  unhappy  in  not  being  banished — so  full  of  these 
thoughts  as  I  am  ?  Six  years,  that  have  been  ages  and  centuries 
of  bitterness  to  me,  have  been  to  them  six  years  of  work  and  of 
common  life.  I  know  that,  let  exile  be  as  long  as  it  will,  the 
returning  wanderer  is  apt  to  take  up  his  life  again,  as  it  were,  at 
the  very  point  where  he  quitted  it,  just  as  if  the  interval  were  a 
hasheesh  dream,  wherein  men  spend  years,  and  lead  weary  lives  in 
a  second  of  time  ;  or,  as  Mohammed  was  carried  by  the  angel 
through  the  seven  heavens,  and  beheld  all  the  glory  of  them  in  the 
spilling  of  a  water- vase,  insomuch ,  that  when  his  winged  guide 
brought  him  back  to  earth  again,  he  found  the  vessel  he  had 
overturned  at  his  departure  yet  pouring  forth  its  contents.  That 
was  a  miracle  ;  but  though  there  was  no  change  in  the  world 
while  Mohammed  tarried  in  the  heavens,  I  fear  there  is  change 
since  I  dwelt  in  Gehenna.  The  very  nation  that  I  knew  in 
Ireland  is  broken  and  destroyed ;  and  the  place  that  knew  it 
shall  know  it  no  more.  To  America  has  fled  the  half-starved 
remnant  of  it ;  and  the  phrase  that  I  have  heard  of  late,  "  a  new 
Ireland  in  America,"  conveys  no  meaning  to  my  mind.  Ireland 
without  the  Irish — The  Irish  out  of  Ireland — neither  of  these 
can  be  our  country.  Yet  who  can  tell  what  the  chances  and 
changes  of  the  blessed  war  may  bring  us  ?  I  believe  in  moral 
and  spiritual  electricity  ;  I  believe  that  a  spark,  caught  at  some 
happy  moment,  may  give  life  to  masses  of  comatose  humanity  ; 
that  dry  bones,  as  in  Ezekiel's  vision,  may  live ;  that  out  of  the 
"  exodus  "  of  the  Celts  may  be  bom  a  Return  of  the  Heracleidaj. 


358  JAiL  jOUkNAL 

Czar,  I  bless  thee.  I  kiss  the  hem  of  thy  garment.  1  drink  to 
thy  health  and  longevity.     Give  us  war  in  our  time,  O  Lord  ! 

igth. — ^We  bid  farewell  to  our  New  Orleans  friends.  We  weigh 
anchor.  Prometheus,  for  the  Empire  City ;  Pampero,  for  the 
Crescent  City ;  and  gladly  we  see  the  low,  tropical  jmigle,  with 
the  wooden  houses  of  Greytown  (peopled  by  extortioners  and 
vermin),  and  the  swampy  delta  of  the  San  Juan,  receding  from 
our  stem.  Nicaragua  Smith  has  looked  with  almost  a  fatherly 
interest  upon  this  isthmus  of  his  affections,  on  whose  future 
destinies  he  shed  of  old  the  radiance  of  the  New  York  Sun.  Since 
we  landed  at  San  Juan  del  Sur  till  we  left  Gre5^own,  he  has 
gazed  curiously  and  keenly  at  whatsoever  was  visible,  with  a 
view  to  future  American  colonisation,  so  as  to  make  it  and  its 
facilities  of  traffic  a  sure  and  inexpugnable  possession  of  the 
American  Republic  for  ever  more. 

This  evening  as  we  sat  on  deck  and  smoked,  watching  the  low- 
lying  coast  vanishing  behind  us,  we  entered  upon  high  discourse, 
touching  the  "  destinies  "  of  Central  America.  In  Nicaragua's 
opinion  there  are  several  other  reasons  besides  the  imperative 
need  of  mastering,  owning,  and  securing  against  interference,  the 
best  route  from  Atlantic  to  Pacific,  which  make  it  expedient  for 
the  United  States  to  exclude  and  deny  all  British  interference  here. 
In  the  first  place,  my  excellent  friend  considers  that  the  British, 
by  setting  up  a  dnmken,  diseased  Sambo  for  king,  and  tr5dng  to 
get  United  States  ships  to  pay  harbour  dues  to  his  mangy 
Majesty,  mean  a  mock  at  RepubUcan  institutions  ;  so,  he  would 
have  the  United  States  seize,  without  delay,  upon  the  whole  con- 
cern, king  and  kingdom  ;  sell  his  Majesty  to  a  sugar-planter,  who 
would  give  him  his  proper  work  to  do  ;  and  let  England  vindicate 
the  cause  of  her  ally  as  she  could  and  dared.  Moreover,  said 
Nicaragua,  the  present  disorderly  and  anarchical  condition  of  that 
villainous  kraal — pointing  with  his  cigar  to  the  marine  metropolis 
of  Mosquitia — ^is  disgraceful  and  dangerous.  Six  or  seven 
hundred  Americans  (men  and  women),  once  in  the  fortnight, 
brought  here  and  delivered  up  to  that  gang  of  reprobates,  aban- 
doned of  God  and  man  !  "  Then,"  he  added,  "  consider  their 
bad  drinks  (Nicaragua  has  become  in  five  years  a  thorough 
American,  and  this  grievance  seems  to  sting  him).  On  the 
whole,  considering  the  British  protectorate  in  Central  America, 


JAIL  JOURNAL  359 

aild  British  itisolence  towards  the  United  States  in  that  matter, 
and  adverting,  moreover,  to  the  poisonous  hquors  vended  there, 
my  poUtics,"  said  Nicaragua,  "  are  fully  described  in  that  con- 
fession of  faith  announced  once  by  a  Missouri  citizen,  '  I  am 
agin'  bad  brandy,  and  lor  the  next  war.'  " 

2ist. — ^We  are  coasting  along  the  north-western  shores  of  Cuba, 
and  within  five  miles  of  the  shore.  It  has  a  ridge  of  mountains 
not  very  high  ;  between  the  hills  and  the  shore  rich  plantations, 
bounteous  in  sugar  and  tobacco.  Amongst  our  passengers  there 
is  much  talk  of  Lopez,  the  Pampero,  and  the  Isle  of  Pines.  The 
prevailing  sentiment  on  board,  in  regard  to  the  fair  Queen  of  the 
Antilles  (as  I  collect  the  same),  may  be  expressed  in  these  words 
"  She  is  bound  to  come  in." 

22nd. — Shortly  after  daybreak,  this  morning  we  were  under 
the  Moro  Castle,  steaming  into  the  narrow  entrance  which  leads 
into  the  harbour  of  Havana.  The  towers  and  batteries  of  the 
Moro,  were  on  our  left  bristling  with  guns  ;  another  battery  on 
the  right ;  the  passage  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  :  a  place 
intimidating  to  the  heart  of  filibustero.  Clearly,  Havana  is  no 
game  for  an  excursion  party  of  Louisiana  S5niipathisers  ;  but,  if 
the  Creoles  be  really  as  disaffected  and  oppressed  as  they  are 
represented  to  be,  a  landing  anywhere,  under  a  bold  leader 
would  soon  carry  the  country,  leaving  Havana  to  be  last 
devoured. 

A  signal  from  the  castle  brought  us  to  :  a  boat  with  officers  of 
her  Cathohc  Majesty  boarded  us,  and,  after  some  questions,  left 
and  the  Prometheus  passed  on.  Soon  a  noble  city,  appeared  on 
our  right,  a  wide  basin  opened  before  us,  crowded  with  ships  of 
all  nations  ;  the  Prometheus  proceeded  to  a  kind  of  wharf  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  harbour,  where  she  is  to  take  in  coals ;  and 
there  we  found  another  American  ocean  steamship,  coaling  for 
her  voyage  to  Charleston. 

My  American  friend  pointed  to  a  suburb  on  the  shore  of  the 
bay,  about  two  miles  from  us.  "  There,"  he  said,  "  is  Atares. 
In  the  castle,  which  you  see  above,  Crittenden  and  the  fifty 
Americans  were  confined ;  and,  on  the  open  ground  before  it, 
they  were  shot  as  pirates.  The  balance  is  against  us,  but  the 
account  remains  open. 

Here  we  remain  till  to-morrow  afternoon. 


36o  JAIL  JOURNAL 

'^yrd. — Last  night  Nicaragua  took  the  boys  with  him  to  the 
city,  in  company  with  two  or  three  American  gentlemen,  and  went 
to  the  famous  theatre,  where  an  opera  troupe  at  present  delights 
the  faithful  subjects  of  her  CathoUc  Majesty ;  but  soldiers  were 
drawn  up  before  the  theatre  ;  and  soldiers  marshalled  the  play- 
goers to  their  places.  If  there  be  disaffection  in  Havana  against 
the  government,  it  seems  they  are  prepared  to  repress  its  mani- 
festation in  the  theatre. 

To-day  I  explored  part  of  the  city  with  Nicaragua  and  our 
sententious  American  friend.  The  streets  are  stately  and  clean, 
but  narrow  and  sombre  ;  the  shops  are  cavernous,  and  the  people 
have  a  quiet,  and  subdued  aspect.  Everywhere  troops  ase  on 
guard  ;  and  fine,  soldierly-looking  men  they  are.  On  the  island 
are  twenty-five  thousand  of  them  ;  and  all  from  old  Spain.  "  If 
the  Cubans,"  said  our  sententious  friend,  "  are  well-affected  and 
well-off,  as  all  Captjiin-Generals  make  it  a  rule  to  say — what  is 
the  use  of  these  troops  ?  " 

"  Why  to  meet  your  American  filibusters  on  the  shore." 

"  And  the  British  army  in  Ireland  ?  Is  that  to  meet  a  foreign 
invader,  or  to  crush  native  rebeUion  ?  " 

"  What  other  proofs  have  you  of  disaffection  among  the 
Creoles  ?     Does  it  show  itself  through  the  Press  ?  " 

"  There  is  no  Press,  except  a  government  Press,  as  in  Ireland 
— and  that  is  another  proof  of  notorious  disaffection." 

"  And  what  else  ?  " 

"  The  disarming  of  the  native  population.  Cuba  and  Ireland 
are  the  two  islands  of  Arms  Bills,  the  hunting-fields  of 
gens  d'armes,  the  paradises  of  informers  and  detectives." 

"  Yet  the  Government  shows  no  particular  jealousy  of  strangers 
Here  we  are,  all  presumably  Americans,  possibly  devotees  of  the 
'  Lone  Star,'  walking  peacefully  in  the  streets  of  Havana,  and 
discussing  the  wrongs  of  Cuba." 

"  Yes ;  but  we  did  not  come  ashore  without  a  Government 
permit.  The  Captain-General  knows  us,  and  has  his  himdred 
eyes  upon  us.  Get  you  into  a  volante,  drive  round  and 
through  the  city  by  all  manner  of  circuitous  routes,  and  a 
moimted  officer  will  follow  you  all  the  way  and  take  note  of 
where  you  call." 

"  But  what  are  the  substantial  wrongs  of  Cuba  ?  " 


JAIL  JOURNAL  561 

"  A  wealthy  State  Church,  maintained  for  the  comfort  of 
Spanish  clergymen  ;  high  taxes  imposed  on  indispensable  articles 
of  import ;  the  revenues  of  the  island  swallowed  up  by  thousands 
of  civil  and  military  officials,  who  gather  fortunes  here,  and 
spend  them  in  Madrid ;  every  honourable  career  barred  against 
the  Creoles  and  their  sons,  and  contempt  poured  upon  them  by 
every  younger  son  of  every  hungry  hidalgo,  who  comes  here  to 
do  them  the  honour  of  devouring  their  substance.  What  do 
you  think  of  this  ?  " 

"  My  friend,  it  is  another  Ireland." 

"  Except  in  the  matter  of  patience  and  perseverance  in  starva- 
tion. There,  the  Irish  are  unmatched  amongst  the  white  in- 
habitants of  the  earth.  No  people  will  he  down  and  die  of 
hunger  by  myriads  and  millions,  save  only  the  natives  of  that 
gem  of  the  sea." 

In  reply,  I  could  but  bite  my  tongue. 

^We  went  into  several  tobacconists'  stores.     In  every  one 

they  were  making  cigaritas.  Then  we  strolled  into  Dominica's 
elegant  restaurant,  with  a  small  court  inside,  refreshed  by  a 
beautiful  fountain.  Passed  on  to  the  palace  of  the  Captain- 
General,  a  very  handsome  and  massive-looking  house,  near  the 
quay.  In  front  of  it  is  a  shady  court,  open  on  all  sides  to  the 
streets.  There  I  stood  awhile,  and  looked  up  at  the  palace  with 
horror  and  hatred,  as  at  another  Dublin  Castle.  Those  two 
strongholds  of  hell !  When  will  they  be  razed  and  swept  away, 
and  the  places  where  they  stand  sown  with  salt ! 

We  came  on  board  again  ;  and  on  getting  into  our  boat  at  the 
quay,  we  perceived  that  the  eyes  of  soldiers  were  upon  us.  This 
evening  we  passed  again  under  the  guns  of  the  Moro  ;  are 
entering  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  have  lost  sight  of  the  mountain 
diadem  that  crowns  the  Queen  of  the  Antilles.  Now  for 
New  York  at  last !  • 

26th.- — We  have  passed  the  coasts  of  Florida  and  Georgia,  and 
are  fast  coming  into  cold  weather  ;  for  it  is  already  winter  in  the 
northern  hemisphere,  and  our  gallant  ship  is  "  stemming  nightly 
to  the  pole." 

Almost  of?  Cape  Hatteras.  On  our  starboard  beam,  and  at  no 
very  great  distance,  lie  the  Bermudas — islands  of  weeping,  and 
cursing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth :    my  dismal  dungeon  for  ten 


362  JAIL  JOURtTAL 

months.  After  circumnavigating  the  globe,  looking  in  at  thred 
continents,  sarve5dng  wide  spaces  of  sea  and  land — 

Ovp€a  T€  (TKioivra  daXaxTcra  re  T)Xn^(f^o- — 

I  can  fancy  that  I  see  the  baleful  cedar-groves  blackening  the 
eastern  horizon.  What  change  has  come  for  the  better,  since  I 
nmiinated  there,  four  years  ago  in  my  cell  of  pain  ?  If  I  am  to 
consider  myself  a  "  mart)^:,"  has  my  mart5n:dom  done  any 
service  to  my  cause  ? — or  the  reverse  ?  If  I  regard  myself  as 
a  mere  prisoner,  fraudulently  seized  upon,  and  cruellj'^  used, 
what  chance  have  I  ever  for  justice  in  my  own  person,  to  say 
nothing  of  justice  for  my  country  ?  Here  I  am  now,  with  all 
dungeons  behind  me,  and  a  wide  world  just  opening  before — 
that  is  to  say,  the  time  of  irresponsible  idleness  and  mid-summer 
nights'  dreams  is  past ;  the  time  for  responsible  action  in  broad 
day  is  upon  me.  Shall  I  do  good  or  evil  in  my  generation  ?  Or 
would  it  be  better  that  I  had  died  amongst  those  black  cedars 
there,  and  had  been  buried  in  that  foul  cemetery,  where  all 
the  dust  is  dust  of  demons  ! 

A  gloomy  question  to  press  itself  upon  me  now,  just  as  I  am 
about  to  tread  the  land  of  Washington  !  I  am  going  to  be  a 
demigod  for  two  or  three  weeks — so  my  American  friends  warn 
me,  with  many  a  prudent  caution — agoing  to  have  a  reception, 
and  dinners,  and  shall  be  material  for  paragraphs  in  the  morning 
papers.     If  I  were  a  fool,  I  would  be  happy. 

Well,  from  the  gobemouches,  good  Lord,  deliver  me  !  As  for 
my  cause,  I  know  that  it  has  been  just  and  true — ^that  it  is  now 
hopeless,  would  be  treason  to  say.  England,  the  enemy  of  the 
human  race,  will  come  down  and  sit  in  the  dust  hke  the  Daughter 
of  Babylon  ;  the  "  interests  of  civiUsation  "  in  Europe  will  be 
dislocated  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  rogues  are  falling  out ;  and  then 
some  of  the  honest  folk  may  have  their  own.  But  on  the  whole, 
I  say,  "  Magna  est  Veritas,  et  non  praevalebit."  • 

2gth. — ^This  morning,  the  heights  of  Nevisink,  then  Sandy 
Hook,  Staten  Island,  Long  Island.  We  steam  rapidly  up  the 
outer  harbour.  My  wife  and  I  walking  on  deck,  enjoying  and 
admiring  the  glee  of  some  of  our  New  York  acquaintances  on 
board,  as  the  great  ocean  avenue  to  their  native  city  opens 
before  them,  after  years  of  absence  in  California.    They  eagerly 


JAIL  JOURNAL  3^3 

point  out  every  well-known  feature  in  the  vast  bay ;  and  ask 
us  to  admit  that  it  is  the  most  beautiful  bay  in  the  world.  I 
answer  that  it  is  the  most  useful. 

In  truth,  we  can  hardly  speaik,  for  now  we  pass  the  Narrows, 
leave  Staten  Island  behind,  and  straight  before  us  looms  the 
dense  mass  of  the  mighty  city,  fringed  on  both  sides  with  forest 
of  masts  that  stretch  away  into  the  blue  distance.  Hardly  less 
magnificent,  the  City  of  Brooklyn  crowns  its  heights,  and  lines 
for  miles  the  shores  of  Long  Island  with  stately  buildings. 
Williamsburg  on  this  side  ;  Jersey  City  on  that — a  constellation 
of  cities  ! — a  gangUon  of  human  life  ! 

We  come  up  to  the  pier.  My  brother  and  Meagher  step  on 
board  to  welcome  us — we  go  into  a  boat,  which  takes  us  to  a 
steam-ferry ;  without  entering  the  city  at  all,  we  pass  straight 
over  to  Brooklyn,  where  my  mother  awaits  our  arrival ;  and 
here  ends  my  Journal. 


J 


THE   JOURNAL  CONTINUED 


365 


THE   JOURNAL    CONTINUED 

[This  continuation  was  published  in  Mitchel's  Irish  Citizen  (New 

York)  in  1869-70.] 

The  New  York  Reception 

Nov,  zgth,  1853 — New  York. — I  undertake  to  continue  the 
Journal  of  my  life,  and  to  take  it  up  on  the  day  I  laid  it  down — 
that  is,  the  day  of  my  arrival  in  New  York  for  the  first  time. 
What  were  my  impressions  of  this  great  new  country  ;  what  has 
befallen  me  here  since  that  day,  nearly  sixteen  years  ago  ;  what 
I  have  done,  or  tried  to  do  ;  whither  I  have  travelled  within  the 
United  States  and  out  of  them,  what  part  I  have  essayed  to 
take  in  pubUc  affairs  and  what  has  come  of  it — this,  I  am  told, 
might  possess  a  certain  amoimt  of  interest  for  some  readers.  If 
so,  they  shall  have  it. 

It  is  at  the  beginning  of  a  hard  winter  that  my  Uttle  house- 
hold finds  itself  established  in  a  house  of  Brooklyn.  It  was 
Meagher  who  showed  me  the  way  to  this  house,  and  who  intro- 
duced me  to  my  mother. 

*  «  *  *  *  * 

After  a  httle  while  arrives  a  carriage  bringing  the  rest  of  the 
'*  crowd,"  including  Pat  Smyth,  my  rescuer  and  faithful  friend. 
We  dine  quietly.  In  the  evening  comes  John  Dillon,  with  his 
wife — two  very  dear  friends ;  Dr.  Antisell,  whom  I  had  never 
met  before  :  Michael  Doheny,  erst  of  Tipperary ;  and  others  too 
nmnerous  to  mention.  It  grows  dusk,  it  grows  dark,  and  we 
,  are  seated  at  tea,  when  the  sound  of  distant  music  is  heard.  It 
approaches ;  it  is  rolling  out  "  Garryowen."  My  friends  all 
smile  ;  they  know  this  city ;  and  they  presently  tell  me  that  I 
must  get  up  and  prepzire  to  receive  the  greetings  of  my  friends. 
To  my  very  great  amazement.  Union  Street  is  quickly  filled  up 
with  ranked  men,  gUttering  bayonets  and  waving  banners. 
Civic  societies  and  mihtary  companies  are  here  pell-mell,  all 
coming  to  welcome  me  to  a  land  of  liberty— to  make  me  feel 

367 


368  JAIL  JOURNAL 

good  (as  they  say  here)  after  my  long  captivity.  Now  this  is 
very  kind,  very  natural.  We  all  rush  to  the  front  windows  ; 
pull  out  the  sashes  ;  throw  the  hall-door  open  ;  receive  deputa- 
tions ;  make  speeches ;  review  military  companies  defiling 
through  the  hall ;  shake  hands  with  the  innumerable  good 
fellows,  Irish  and  American  ;  and  at  last,  about  eleven  o'clock, 
see  the  last  of  the  processions,  and  as  the  music  of  the  last  band 
dies  away  we  go  to  supper. 

This  sort  of  thing  went  on  for  three  or  four  nights ;  there 
seemed  no  end  to  the  societies,  clubs,  companies,  that 
made  it  a  point  to  come  and  welcome  me  to  their  hospitable 
land.  Now,  it  would  be  a  most  formidable  body  of  piratical 
looking  fellows  with  glittering  axes — the  ship  carpenters,  at  your 
service,  bearded  and  brawny.  And  as  to  their  hand-shake,  one 
had  better  shake  hands  with  a  vice.  Then  would  follow  several 
delegations  from  benevolent  societies,  with  ribbons  in  their 
buttonholes  ;  and  multitudes  of  little  speeches  had  to  be  made  ; 
nonsensical  enough,  to  be  sure  ;  but  reporters  of  the  morning 
papers  were  at  our  elbows  taking  down  every  word. 

Now  all  this  was  very  absurd  ;  but  I  do  affirm  that  it  was 
exceedingly  pleasant.  Remember,  that  I  had  been  five  or  six 
years  in  the  solitude  of  Antarctic  woods,  and  in  the  outer  darkness 
of  the  ocean.  It  was  not  in  nature  that  I  should  not  enjoy 
these  first  holidays  of  freedom ;  and,  besides,  all  the  proceedings 
I  have  spoken  of  had  a  large,  broad,  free-and-easy,  devil-may-care 
sort  of  air,  yet  all  so  kindly,  genial,  cordial — here  in  this  large 
street,  thronged  with  armed  men,  sometimes  cheering,  sometimes 
singing,  there  was  not  once  the  faintest  symptom  of  disorder, 
nor  did  I  see  a  single  policeman.  It  began  to  be  apparent  to  me 
that  here  I  had  got  into  a  very  different  sort  of  country  from  any 
of  those  which  I  had  seen  before.  It  was  too  soon  to  speculate 
on  the  matter  ;  I  could  only  enjoy  myself  in  the  new  and  fresh 
and  human  atmosphere. 

Hard  frost  for  weeks ;  with  light  falls  of  snow ;  intensely 
cold,  by  the  thermometer,  but  dry,  bright  and  pleasant.  Before 
going  over  to  New  York  proper,  we  explore  Brooklyn,  a  very 
beautiful  city  of  at  least  two  hundred  thousand  people  ;  most  of 
them  foreigners,  as  one  can  easily  perceive.  Great  multitudes 
of  the  business  people  of  New  York  have  their  dwellings  here ; 


p.  J.    Smyth 

("  Nicaragua  ") 
From  a  water-colour  by  Edward  Hayes,  1854 


JAIL  JOURNAL  369 

and  there  are  long,  clean,  quiet  streets,  shaded  on  either  side  by 
trees  ;  showing  but  small  sign  of  life  or  activity  during  the  day 
— nurses  and  children,  mainly  ;  but  every  evening,  and  far  into 
the  night,  ringing  with  music  and  vocal  with  songs  of  all  nations. 
There  is  a  very  large  Irish  population  in  Brooklyn  ;  still  larger 
German  ;  and  I  find  plenty  of  Danes,  Norwegians,  and  other 
Scandinavians. 

Friends  conduct  me  to  the  most  elevated  regions  of  the  city, 
especially  a  place  called  Fort  Greene,  a  hill  which  commands  a 
most  magnificent  prospect  over  the  two  great  cities ;  over 
Staten  Island  and  New  Jersey,  as  far  as  the  first  ranges  of  the 
Alleghenys,  the  navy-yard  on  East  River  ;  the  "  Palisades  "  on 
the  Hudson,  and  the  densely  packed  smoky  mass  of  New  York 
itself  (which  I  have  never  yet  visited)  stretching,  with  its  mighty 
fringe  of  masts,  away  to  the  horizon. 

A  few  days  after  my  arrival  comes  a  deputation  from  the 
"  City  Councils  "  of  Brookljm  to  request  my  attendance  at  a 
solemn  procession,  in  my  honour,  around  the  city,  and  a  re- 
ception in  the  City  Hall.  I  feel  bound,  in  this  truthful  Journal, 
to  record  and  acknowledge  all  the  public  compliments  and 
attentions  which  were  offered  to  me  in  those  early  days ;  and 
the  more  bound,  seeing  that  compliment  and  flattery  were  soon 
enough  changed  to  horrible  abuse — through  my  own  fault,  of 
course.  Carriages  came  to  the  door  ;  the  Mayor  of  Brooklyn, 
Mr.  Lambert,  a  quiet  and  well-bred  gentleman,  took  charge  of 
me.  Lon^,  dense  ranks  of  men,  armed  and  uniformed,  were  on 
hand  by  way  of  escort ;  and  amongst  these  I  was  specially  desired 
to  notice  a  very  fine  body  of  men  in  buckskin  breeches,  old- 
fashioned  blue  coats  and  mediaeval  hats — the  "  Continentals." 
When  I  came  out,  in  charge  of  the  Mayor,  I  was  greatly  cheered, 
took  off  my  hat  to  the  Continentals,  and  we  proceeded  on  our 
way ;  but  I  must  say  I  felt  somewhat  ashamed,  puzzled,  almost 
alarmed,  by  all  this  demonstration.  What  in  the  world  can 
I  do  for  all  these  good  folks,  I  asked  myself,  in  return  for  so 
much  generous  kindness  ? 

Slowly,  and  in  grand  state,  we  proceeded  through  the  hand- 
some streets  of  Brooklyn.  Beautiful  women  waved  handker- 
chiefs from  the  windows  ;  some  threw  bouquets  into  the  carriage, 
which  the  polite  Mayor  picked  up  and  handed  to  me  with  a, 

24 


370  JAIL  JOURNAL 

smile.    Good  God  !  what  is  all  this  for  ?    What  are  these  people 

going  to  make  of  me  ? City  Hall ;  a  quite  stately  building 

of  white  marble,  with  a  fine  piece  of  ornamental  ground  in  front. 
Pictures,  speechifications  ;  introduction  to  the  City  Authorities  ; 
painful  hand-shaking,  and  then  home,  where  the  Mayor  delivers 
me  back  safely  into  the  bosom  of  my  family. 

Dillon — I  asked  that  evening — what  is  the  exact  sense  of  all 
this  ?  What  value  am  I  to  give  for  it  ?  To  what  does  it  bid 
or  oblige  me  ?  He  laughed.  Never  mind,  he  answered  ;  you 
will  be  asked  to  do  nothing  :  you  are  free  as  the  wind,  and  so  are 
we  all  -.  but  'peste  I  in  a  democratic  country,  people  must  make 
capital.    They  are  heartily  welcome. 

At  last  I  go  over  to  New  York,  by  a  steam  ferry-boat  which 
looks  like  a  piece  of  a  street  cut  off,  crowded  with  vehicles  and 
waggons,  and  having  in  the  "  ladies'  saloon "  at  least  three 
himdred  persons.  Another  vast  ship  of  this  kind  rushes  in  as 
we  rush  out ;  and  on  our  voyage  of  five  minutes  we  meet  another 
one  crowded  with  people.  Yet  this  is  only  one  of  half  a  dozen 
ferries.  We  land  in  New  York  at  the  foot  of  Fulton  Street, 
which  will  bring  us  straight  up  to  Broadway.  Just  here,  close 
on  the  water,  is  one  of  the  great  markets  of  the  city,  the  Fulton 
Market,  a  thoroughly  disgraceful  and  squalid  mass  of  shanties, 
such  as  would  not  be  allowed  to  call  itself  a  market  in  any  city 
of  Europe  one-fourth  the  size  of  New  York.  Nevertheless,  I 
admit  they  can  show  good  beef  and  mutton  here,  and  great 
variety  of  exquisite  tropical  fruits,  but  at  enormous  prices. 

Fulton  Street,  William  Street,  Broadway  :  nothing  to  be  said 
about  these  thoroughfares  :  a  great  crush  of  vehicles,  of  course  : 
great  packing  and  unpacking  of  heavy  bales  and  boxes  at  the 
doors  of  wholesale  warehouses.  At  the  Broadway  intersection 
of  Fulton  Street  is  a  brown  church,  excessively  ugly  (St.  Paul's). 
Close  by  that  is  the  lofty  and  massive  Astor  House,  all  of  granite  ; 
looking  highly  respectable.  Nearly  opposite,  the  City  Hall — 
the  only  object  I  have  seen  in  New  York  that  I  would  call 
architectural. 

And  now,  having  come  to  this  City  Hall,  let  me  have  done 
with  it :  for  here,  also,  I  had  to  be  paraded,  by  way  of  pubhc 
reception,  flags  flying,  miUtary  presenting  arms :  innumerable 
introductions  and  pppgratulatjons  ;  the  thing  was  "  put  through," 


JAIL  JOURNAL   ^  371 

It  was  a  nuisance,  but  it  came  to  an  end  ;  and  then  the  Municipal 
Authorities  (I  forget  the  Mayor's  name)  brought  me  back  to 
Brooklyn. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  public  honours,  we  did  not  forget 
our  friends  who  were  left  behind  us  in  Van  Diemen's  Land. 
Smyth  was  eager  to  undertake  the  rescue  of  Smith  O'Brien,  and 
felt  sure  he  could  effect  it.  The  committee  that  had  charge  of 
certain  funds  for  Irish  revolutionary  purposes,  thought  it  could 
not  appropriate  a  part  of  those  funds  more  wisely  than  in  furn- 
ishing Mr.  Smyth  with  the  means  of  achieving  that  enterprise 
on  which  he  had  set  his  heart,  and  which  my  own  case  had  proved 
to  be  possible.  In  short,  he  was  supplied  with  the  needful 
resources,  and  left  us  for  England,  intending  to  go  out  openly 
to  Austraha,  making  no  secret  of  his  object.  How  the  English 
Government  defeated  him  by  pardoning  O'Brien  and  his  com- 
rades I  shall  have  to  tell  hereafter. 

At  the  moment  of  my  arrival  in  New  York  the  great  Crimean  • 
War  was  breaking  out.  Great  and  mighty  armies  were  in  prepa- 
ration in  English  ports,  destined  to  execute  sharp  and  summary 
justice  on  the  Czar  of  Russia.  The  Czar  had  just  been  dis- 
covered (in  England)  to  be  a  liar,  a  thief,  and  a  cheat ;  and 
his  shield  as  a  Knight  of  the  Garter  had  been  broken  to  pieces 
in  the  Chapel  of  Windsor  and  swept  out  upon  the  dust-heap,  as 
the  escutcheon  of  a  dishonoured  Knight. 

I  thought  that  I  could  foresee  a  war  which  would  not  confine 
itself  to  the  Black  Sea  and  Baltic  ;  and  with  this  hope  resolved 
to  establish  a  political  organ  in  New  York,  for  the  behoof  of  our 
multitudinous  Irish  population  in  the  United  States. 

So  was  conceived,  within  two  weeks  after  my  arrival,  the 
first  issue  of  the  Citizen. 

December,  1853. — I  am  in  New  York  :  "  When  I  was  at  home 
I  was  in  a  better  place,"  as  our  friend  said  in  the  Forest  of  Arden. 
New  York  excels  all  the  cities  of  the  earth,  as  well  in  other 
respects  [cela  va  sans  dire),  as  in  respect  of  wooden  posts  and 
poles.  Poles  and  posts  stand  up  here  before  you  at  every  tiun  ; 
the  barbers'  poles  are  enormous ;  like  the  "  masts  of  some  tall 
admiral."  The  telegraph  poles,  crossed  by  short  yards,  give  to 
some  streets  the  aspect  of  a  pine  forest,  somewhat  blighted,  but 
still  umbrageous.    Then  I  back  New  York  against  all  the  cities 


372  JAIL  JOURNAL 

of  the  habitable  globe  for  flag-staves.  Paris,  indeed,  has  plenty 
of  little  stems,  or  stalks,  or  rather  pegs,  to  hang  out  the  tri- 
colour upon  ;  but,  God  bless  you !  it  is  nothing  to  New  York. 
On  every  hotel  is  a  great  mast  ;  every  newspaper  office  must 
have  one  as  tall  as  the  next  newspaper  office  can  afford  to 
set  up ;  the  City  Hall — a  really  handsome  and  perfectly 
respectable  building — has  about  four  masts.  There  are  upon 
the  streets  at  least  forty  thousand  poles,  sustaining  awnings  in 
front  of  the  shops,  or,  as  they  choose  to  call  them  here, 
"  stores  "  ;  on  the  whole,  it  is  wonderful  to  let  your  mind  dwell 
upon  the  illimitable  forests  primeval  of  this  Continent,  and  on 
the  havoc  that  must  have  been  made  in  them  to  supply  the 
poles  and  posts  of  this  city ! 

I  am  bound  to  say,  also,  that  I  find  it,  in  other  and  more 
important  respects,  a  very  grand  and  wondrous  city.  Consider 
this  one  fact  :  Since  I  arrived  here,  only  a  few  days  ago,  a  great 
many  thousands  of  Irish  men  and  women  (about  eleven  thousand 
per  week)  have  been  emptied  out  of  emigrant  ships  upon  those 
quays.  This  is  not  counting  Germans.  Now  what  becomes  of 
these  people  ?  They  are  not  to  be  seen  crowding  the  streets 
and  making  mobs  ;  they  do  not  organise  themselves  to  rob 
houses  and  cut  throats  ;  in  fact,  they  are  not  seen  at  all :  the 
potent  vital  force  of  this  mighty  country  somehow  absorbs 
them  at  once  ;  they  permeate  and  percolate  through  the  com- 
munity, and  find  their  place  and  find  their  work.  They  get 
railroad  cars  on  the  very  evening  of  their  arrival,  and  are  whirled 
away  to  where  loving  friends  are  awaiting  them  on  the  banks  of 
the  Wabash,  or  hard  by  some  bright  lake  of  Michigan ;  or  else 
they  get  immediate  occupation  in  the  city  itself,  where  there  is 
always  a  fine  demand  for  broad  shoulders  and  willing  hands. 
This  phenomenon  is,  on  the  whole,  the  most  wonderful  and 
admirable  thing  I  have  seen  in  New  York. 

After  all,  this  "  Journal "  of  mine  is  not,  strictly  speaking, 
a  Journal  at  all ;  though,  for  convenience,  it  is  occasionally 
dated.  In  truth  and  fact,  it  is  written  long  after  its  ostensible 
dates  ;  and,  therefore,  I  may  inform  my  reader  that  this  city  of 
Brooklyn,  where  I  am  now  inditing,  and  which  was  a  place  of 
some  two  hundred  thousand  inhabitants  when  I  first  entered  it, 
is  now  a  vast  city  of  four  hundred  thousand.    TJie  village,  when 


JAIL  JOURNAL  373 

I  saw  it  first,  had  no  supply  of  water  ;  and  we  drew  our  water 
from  pumps  at  the  street  comers.  Now  every  house  has  its 
own  bath-room,  and  its  water  pipes,  warm  and  cold.  Our  poor 
infant  Brookl)^  had  no  theatre  ;  now  it  has  one  of  the  most 
superb  opera-houses  in  the  universe. 

Thieves  entered  our  house,  several  evenings  in  succession,  and 
carried  away  everything  in  the  hall ;  that  is,  overcoats,  hats, 
mnbrellas.  I  bought  a  new  overcoat,  for  the  weather  was  cold  ; 
that  same  evening  it  was  carried  off.  Somebody  was  watching 
at  the  street  comer  to  ascertain  when  anybody  got  an5rthing 
new  and  worth  taking.  The  worst  of  it  was,  all  my  friends 
only  laughed  ;  said  that  the  new  arrival  and  the  excitement 
and  the  confusion  gave  a  chance  to  the  thieves,  and  that  a  man 
must  hve.  Went  to  the  City  Hall ;  demanded  to  see  the  head 
police  authority  ;  asked  him  in  a  rage  whether  this  was  a  civilised 
country  ?  He  replied,  with  a  smile,  that  he  guessed  so.  When  I 
told  him  my  indignant  story,  and  expected  to  find  him  excited 
by  it,  he  merely  took  a  memorandum  euid  bowed  me  out ;  but 
from  that  day  no  thieves  came  to  my  hall.  My  impression  is 
— and  sixteen  years'  observation  and  experience  has  confirmed 
it — that  pohce  duty  (with  all  the  grumbling  of  these  folks,  and 
they  do  grumble  dreadfully)  is  better  and  more  thoroughly 
done  than  in  any  city  of  Ireland  or  England.  This  vast  city 
here,  at  least  six  times  the  size  of  DubUn,  a  huge  seaport,  too, 
always  swarming  with  ragamuffin  sailors ;  an  enormous  depot, 
too,  of  destitute  and  bewildered  immigrants,  has  not  so  many 
•policemen  as  Dublin,  to  keep  its  peace.  As  for  nocturnal 
violence,  I  have  this  testimony  to  give  :  For  more  than  a  year 
I  have  had  constant  occasion  to  pass  at  all  hours  of  the  night 
through  the  streets  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn,  and  to  cross 
the  ferries— I  never  yet  witnessed  any  disorder,  assault,  or  as 
much  as  rudeness.  Have  heard  of  such  things,  indeed,  or  read 
of  them  in  the  newspapers ;  but,  as  a  general  rule,  did  not 
believe  them. 

News  coming  in  every  day,  which  to  me  is  exciting.  Russians 
have  destroyed  the  Turkish  fleet  in  the  harbour  of  Sinope ; 
Turkish  fleet  caught  in  a  trap  ;  its  commander  being  an  English- 
man, one  "  Slade."  Will  these  Turks  never  leam  the  lesson  of 
Navarino,  nor  any  other  lesson  ?     But  the  combined  fleets  of 


374  MIL  JOURNAL 

the  French  and  EngUsh  (sweet  allies !)  are  on  their  way  into 
the  Black  Sea ;  and,  of  course,  the  Russian  navy  will  have  to 
go  up  the  river  to  Nicolaief,  where  it  will  be  perfectly  safe. 
Meanwhile  the  EngUsh  will  open  the  Circassian  slave-trade  in 
white  girls,  which  the  Russians  had  stopped.  Not  only  thai, 
but  cheap  Manchester  fabrics  will  be  poured  into  the  ports  of 
the  Black  Sea  in  payment  for  those  girls.  I  am  in  a  hurry  to 
estabUsh  my  newspaper,  that  I  may  help  to  do  justice  upon  these 
British  philanthropists. 

I  have  mentioned  that  I  had  a  public  reception  at  the  New 
York  City  Hall.  Small  and  commonplace  speeches  must,  of 
course,  be  made  on  such  occasions.  In  responding  to  the  poUte 
Mayor,  I  made  it  a  point  to  mention  that  I  accepted  honours 
of  this  kind  in  America  expressly  as  an  insult  to  the  British 
Government,  inasmuch  as  nobody  could  pay  public  respect  to 
me  without  an  outrage  to  that  concern.  The  Mayor  hummed 
and  hawed.  Coming  out,  as  we  passed  through  the  corridor,  a 
friendly  New  York  Journalist  took  me  apart  for  a  moment. 
Don't,  he  said,  don't  say  that  kind  of  thing  ;  these  people  do  not 
mean  any  affront  to  the  British  Government  at  all ;  they  mean 
to  pay  you  a  passing  tribute  of  respect ;  take  it  as  it  comes,  and 
don't  push  it  too  far. 

Now  my  friend,  the  New  York  Journalist,  was  perfectly  right. 
It  may  be  true  that  I  saw  no  value  in  these  public  comphments 
except  in  so  far  as  they  were  a  denial,  a  defiance,  a  contradiction, 
and  a  snub  to  the  Enemy's  Government ;  but  it  is  also  true 
that  I  was  not  entitled  to  dwell  upon  this  view  of  the  case,  and 
to  thrust  my  construction  in  pubUc  down  the  throats  of  my 
hospitable  entertainers.  On  this  one  point,  let  it  be  admitted 
that  I  made  a  slight  blunder.  But  when  I  found  how  little  was 
really  meant  by  the  complimentary  demonstrations,  I  must 
confess  that  I  took  but  very  slender  interest  in  them. 

Great  banquet  in  the  Broadway  Theatre ! — and  this  is  posi- 
tively the  last  occasion  I  shall  have  to  acknowledge  hospitahties 
from  the  City  of  New  York.  The  Broadway  Theatre  does  not 
exist  now — was  pulled  down — and  its  place  is  covered  with 
marble  and  iron  buildings.  On  that  illustrious  occasion  the  pit 
was  floored ;  the  great  area  covered  with  tables ;  the  boxes 
illuminated  with  women ;    a  very  eminent  gentleman  of  New 


JAIL  JOURNAL  375 

York  (whom  I  do  not  Choose  to  name)  presided  and  did  the 
honours ;  a  highly  distinguished  journalist  expressed  his  en- 
thusiastic sentiments.  It  is  enough  :  I  hope  that  I  imderstand 
the  demonstration  just  as  it  was  intended,  and  no  more  and 
no  less. 

Foundation  of  "  The  Citizen  '* 

December,  1853. — The  Press  of  New  York,  hitherto  quite  un* 
known  to  me,  I  have  been,  of  course,  studying  dihgently  every 
morning ;  it  is  the  most  obvious  and  available  map,  or  plan, 
or  picture,  one  can  obtain  of  any  new  community  one  enters. 
After  the  advertisements  you  read  the  leading  articles ;  then 
you  go  into  the  selection  of  news  ;  and  on  the  whole  you  obtain 
a  sort  of  general  idea  of  the  sort  of  folks  you  have  got  amongst, 
and  what  they  are  doing  or  thinking  of.  It  is  imposable  to 
deny  the  great  abiUty  of  the  New  York  Press,  which  must  have 
been  improving  considerably  since  the  voyage  of  Mr.  Martin 
Chuzzlewit.  The  Tribune  is  indeed  a  very  admirably  written 
newspaper ;  but  very  abhorrent  to  me  by  reason  of  its  philan- 
thropy, human  progress,  and  other  balderdash.  They  were  all 
considerably  bewildered  now  on  the  subject  of  the  new  war  in 
Europe,  not  very  well  assured  what  they  ought  to  say  about  it. 
From  the  long  continued  habit  of  merely  echoing  British  senti- 
ment regarding  all  European  affairs,  these  organs  of  American 
opinion  are  just  parroting  the  British  prate — about  Russia 
being  a  great  public  malefactor  that  must  be  punished ;  that 
the  grand  Omnipotent  (and  especially  moral)  Powers  of  Western 
Europe  are  now  going  to  execute  justice  upon  the  wretched 
criminal,  and  so  forth. 

In  short,  I  find,  on  my  arrival  here,  a  very  slender  acquaintance 
with  the  Eastern  question.  Our  worthy  Americans  have  been 
too  much  absorbed  by  contemplation  of  the  West,  and  they  have 
forgotten  the  East.  Nevertheless,  there  is  an  East,  as  they  will 
find.  In  the  meantime  all  the  absurd  EngUsh  insolence  about 
Russia  is  reproduced  here  in  a  most  docile  spirit  every  day. 

January  yth,  1854.  —First  number  of  the  Citizen.  I  had 
announced  it  as  about  to  be  conducted  by  John  Mitchel,  "  assisted 
by  Thomas  Francis  Meagher,"  and  my  friend  had  entered 
eagerly  into  the  project ;  but  in  fact,  he  was  at  that  moment 


37^  J  All  JOURNAL 

starting  on  a  tour  to  California  :  and  neither  then  hof  at  any 
subsequent  time  had  I  much  service  from  his  dashing  pen. 
My  assistants,  in  fact,  were  John  M'Clenahan  and  John  Savage, 
both  Irish,  and  both  with  some  experience  on  the  Press,  and  no 
small  literary  capacity. 

It  was  a  hazardous  or,  perhaps,  audacious  enterprise  to 
undertake  a  weekly  newspaper,  so  soon  after  my  arrival  in  the 
coimtry.  Would  have  been  wiser,  probably,  to  enter,  in  New 
York,  my  own  profession  of  the  law,  as  some  of  my  exiled  friends 
had  done  ;  attended  to  the  private  interests  of  cUents,  and  let 
the  grand  interests  of  universal  mankind  take  care  of  themselves. 
But,  in  short,  the  new  European  war,  promising  to  be  a  much 
grander  European  war  than  it  turned  out  afterwards,  excited 
me ;  and  I  resolved  to  use  such  influence  as  I  might  possess 
with  our  multitudinous  Irish  population  in  America,  in  order 
to  direct  their  sympathies  at  least  aright,  and  perhaps  prepare 
the  way  for  some  noble  enterprise  in  Ireland,  if  this  gracious 
war  should  open  a  way  for  it.  So  came  forth  the  first  number  of 
the  Citizen,  with  this  prospectus,  in  which  I  spoke  for  Meagher 
and  myself : — 

"  The  principal  conductors  are,  in  the  first  place.  Irishmen  by 
birth.  In  the  second  place,  they  are  men  who  have  endured 
years  of  penal  exile  at  the  hands  of  the  British  Government, 
for  endeavouring  to  overthrow  the  dominion  of  that  Government 
in  their  native  country.  In  the  third  place,  they  are  refugees 
on  American  soil,  and  aspirants  to  the  privileges  of  American 
citizenship. 

"  The  principles  and  conduct  of  their  new  Journal  will  be  in 
accordance  with  their  position,  their  memories,  and  their 
aspirations. 

"  They  refuse  to  believe  that,  prostrate  and  broken  as  the 
Irish  nation  is  now,  the  cause  of  Irish  independence  is  utterly 
lost. 

"  They  refuse  to  admit  that  any  improvement  in  the  material 
condition  of  those  Irishmen  who  have  survived  the  miseries  of 
the  last  seven  years  (if  any  improvements  there  be)  satisfies  the 
honour,  or  fulfils  the  destiny,  of  an  ancient  and  noble  nation. 

"  They  refuse  to  believe  that  Irishmen  at  home  are  so  abject 
as  to  be  '  loyal '  to  the  Sovereign  of  Great  Britain,  or  that  Irish- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  ^77 

men  in  America  can  endure  the  thought  of  accepting  the  defeat 
which  has  driven  them  from  the  land  of  their  fathers,  and  made 
that  beloved  land  an  object  of  pity  and  contempt  to  the  whole 
earth, 

"  The  movement  of  all  the  Western  and  Southern  nations  of 
Europe  is  towards  Republicanism.  After  a  few  years  of  dismal 
'  peace  '  and  '  order ' — after  l3mig  like  a  corpse,  motionless, 
breathless,  from  her  last  giant  struggle — ^with  the  fetters  of  her 
tyrants  weighing  down  her  limbs,  and  their  bayonets  at  her 
breast — Europe  is  again  ripening  fast  for  another  bursting  forth 
of  the  precious  and  deathless  spirit  of  freedom.  The  dumb 
masses  of  English  life — men  voteless,  landless,  rightless,  who 
labour  for  ever  in  mines  and  factories,  who  have  no  part  in 
the  government  of  their  own  land,  no  interest  in  the  oppression 
of  Ireland,  in  the  plunder  of  Asia,  or  in  the  European  balance 
of  power — those  masses,  we  apprehend,  were  not  finally  crushed 
into  the  earth  on  the  loth  of  April,  1848,  as  some  persons  beheVe 
— they  are  finding  voice  and  spirit  again.  Germany  and  Italy 
are  not  dead — Hungary  is  not  even  asleep.  War  already 
rages  in  Europe ;  other  wars  are  threatening — that  is  to  say, 
promising ;  and  all  over  Europe  and  America  there  are  eyes 
watching  and  hearts  burning  for  the  occasion  to  turn  all  diplo- 
macy and  war  to  good  account  for  the  cause  of  Republican 
Freedom.  Mankind  is  once  more  becoming  charged  with  the 
electricity  of  Revolution,  and  one  of  the  poles  of  that  battery 
we  believe  to  be  situated  somewhere  in  or  about  New  York." 

MiTCHEL  AND  THE   RUSSIAN   MINISTER 

In  the  early  months  of  this  year,  1854,  as  the  mighty  prepara- 
tions were  slowly  going  forward  for  the  Russian  war,  I,  of  course, 
steadily  addressed  myself,  in  the  Citizen,  to  the  task  of  exposing 
the  odious  designs  of  England,  about  all  that  Eastern  business, 
in  which,  indeed,  the  policy  of  England  has  been  more  base  and 
homicidal  than  anjrwhere  else  in  the  world,  except  only  in  Ire- 
land. The  war  hung  fire  for  a  long  time  ;  the  parties  were 
evidently  tender  of  hurting  one '  another  very  much — that  is, 
in  vital  parts ;  and  though  the  English  naval  forces  in  the 
Baltic  and  Gulf  of  Bothnia  burned  many  fishing  villages,  tore 
up  the  nets,  plimdered  the  stores,  ravished  the  women  and 


378  JAIL  JOURNAL 

sailed  away  ;  yet  no  progress  was  made  towards  St.  Petersburg 
by  way  pf  the  Gulf  of  Finland  and  Cronstadt.  There  was  a 
most  magnificent  British  fleet  in  the  Baltic,  commanded  by 
Napier,  an  officer  who  had  served  of  old  in  the  war  of  1812,  in 
Chesapeake  Bay,  under  Cockbum,  and  who,  therefore,  imder- 
stood  the  whole  art  and  mystery  of  destroying  defenceless 
villages  and  robbing  hen-roosts.  He  had  also,  this  terrible  old 
Admiral,  declared,  on  starting  from  the  Downs,  that  he  was 
bound  for  "  Hell  or  Petersburg,"  and  had  bought  and  shipped 
along  with  him  a  droschky,  Russian  waggon  of  that  name,  in 
which  he  annoimced  his  intention  of  driving  through  the  streets 
of  Czar  Peter's  city.  Nothing  seemed  to  be  going  forward,  of 
a  serious  nature,  for  many  months ;  and  I  became  impatient. 
Went  to  Washington,  travelling  through  the  great  cities  of 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  to  see  the  Russian  Minister  at  this 
capitol.  Baron  Stockl.  Found  him  residing  in  a  house  at  a 
place  called  Georgetown  Heights,  and  when  he  received  my  card 
he  came  instantly  to  greet  me  with  much  warmth.  He  was  a 
subscriber,  he  said,  to  the  Citizen,  and  a  "  constant  reader  "  ; 
yet  the  Baron  surmised,  not  without  some  show  of  reason,  that 
the  part  I  took  in  the  impending  war,  endeavouring  to  turn  away 
the  sympathies  of  America  from  the  allies,  and  engage  them  on 
the  side  of  Russia,  was  instigated  by  my  abhorrence  of  England 
only ;  not  by  any  particular  love  for  Russia.  I  admitted  the 
impeachment ;  but  tried  to  make  the  Minister  understzmd  that 
I  was  the  enemy  of  England,  only  because  England  (that  is  the 
EngUsh  Empire,  EngUsh  Government,  English  thing,  as  Cobbett 
called  it)  is  the  enemy  of  the  human  race ;  and  the  most 
authentic  agent  and  vicegerent  of  the  Fiend  upon  the  earth. 

This  theory  being  settled  I  pressed  the  Minister  to  another 
matter  ;  told  him  that  the  Irish  in  Ireland  and  Irish  in  America 
were  most  eagerly  awaiting  some  chance  of  striking  England  a 
mortal  blow  ;  that  in  their  present  state  of  disarmament  at  home 
and  restriction  in  America  (through  the  neutrality  laws),  they 
could  do  nothing ;  but  that  they  would  be  most  happy  to 
strike  a  blow,  make  a  diversion  for  Russia — and  for  themselves 
— if  some  material  aid  could  be  only  furnished  them  to  make  a 
beginning. 

The  Baron  hstened  attentively ;    spoke  with  kindly  warmth 


JAIL  JOURNAL  379 

of  Ireland  and  her  cause ;  politely  admitted  my  title  to  q)eak 
for  my  fellow  countrymen  of  the  National  cause,  and  seemed  a 
good  deal  moved  by  my  representations  that  England  could  be 
so  easily  and  so  fatally  struck  to  the  heart  by  way  of  Ireland. 
But,  he  said  (pointing  to  a  map  of  Europe),  you  see,  with  Russia 
as  a  basis  of  operations,  how  can  we  stretch  a  hand  to  you  in 
Ireland  ?  The  Baltic  Sea  is  blocked  up  ;  so  is  the  Black.  Against 
the  two  combined  navies  of  France  and  England  we  cannot  even 
hold  command  of  those  inland  seas,  but  must  lay  up  our  ships 
in  fortified  ports.  Money,  the  Minister  said,  would  do  you  no 
service  (and  this  I  admitted),  because  to  introduce  war  material 
and  stores  you  would  need  a  covering  force. 

After  a  long  conversation,  the  Baron  took  a  memorandum 
which  he  requested  me  to  make  out  for  him,  and  asked  me  to 
meet  him  in  New  York  three  days  later,  at  the  Metropohtan 
Hotel.  I  did  so ;  nothing  came  of  it.  Baron  Stockl  had  no 
doubt  of  the  hearty  disposition  of  the  Irish  to  fight  on  the  side 
of  Russia,  or  anybody  else,  if  it  was  only  against  England ;  no 
doubt,  either  about  the  tremendous  and  decisive  element  which 
diversion  would  introduce  into  the  pending  war ;  but  he  did 
not  see  his  way  into  the  practical  method  of  using  this  great 
force ;  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  neither  did  I.  Ireland  was  dis- 
armed, cowed,  pretty  well  starved  out ;  and  though  full  then, 
and  at  all  times,  of  the  choicest  fighting  material,  yet  men  do 
need  arms  ;  for,  as  Dean  Swift  says  very  forcibly,  "  Eleven  men 
armed  to  the  teeth  will  always  defeat  one  man  in  his  shirt." 

So  ended  my  tentative  effort  to  make  the  Crimean  War 
available  for  our  Irish  purposes. 

But  now  came  on  the  battle  with  the  Know-Nothings,  a  species 
of  miscreants  who  came  up  about  that  time.  I  shall  have  much 
to  say  concerning  these  desperadoes. 

The  Know-Nothing  Agitation 

February,  1854. — I*  was  in  these  early  months  of  1854  that  the 
native  American  mind  began  to  take  genuine  alarm  about  the 
"  foreign  vote,"  and  the  Pope  of  Rome,  and  the  Jesuits,  and  the 
perilous  influx  of  "  ignorant  foreigners."  They  thought, 
naturally,  that  their  institutions  (which  require,  as  we  know, 
high  cultivation  for  their  proper  use  and  development)  would  be 


38o  JAIL  JOURNAL 

corrupted  and  destroyed  by  this  unlimited  influx  of  illiterate 
outsiders,  especially  Papists  ;  persons  who  had  not  been  educated 
in  our  common  schools. 

It  was,  of  course,  the  British  Press  that  inaugurated  this 
noble  American  crusade.  We  do  not  take  the  Uberty  here  of 
forming  any  sort  of  opinion  that  the  British  Press  does  not 
give  the  signal  for.  I  find,  in  a  residence  of  two  or  three  months 
in  America,  that  although  pohtically  (for  the  present)  independent, 
we  are  intellectually  and  morally  most  intensely  provincial  and 
colonial.  It  suits  the  poUcy  of  Great  Britain,  whilst  the  whole- 
some process  of  making  Ireland  iminhabitable  to  the  Irish  is 
going  on,  that  other  lands  also  be  made,  to  say  the  least,  un- 
comfortable to  them.  It  is  a  race  of  people  to  be  extirpated  and 
abolished,  or  else  British  civiUsation  can  never  have  fair  play. 
So  British  Uterature  and  the  British  Press  gave  the  word,  hoisted 
the  signal,  and  American  hterature  and  the  American  Press 
(the  most  servile  on  earth)  opened  in  full  cry.  We  would  never, 
never  give  up  American  liberties  to  the  Pope  of  Rome,  the 
Jesuits,  and  the  Dominicans  of  the  Inquisition. 

To  come  down  from  those  high  considerations — which,  in 
truth,  nobody  ever  thought  of  for  one  moment — the  case  was 
this : — One  party,  the  Democrats,  held  power  and  enjoyed  the 
emoluments  of  office  too  long ;  the  Whigs,  Federals,  Massa- 
chusetts Protectionists,  felt  that  they  should  have  their  turn — 
so  they  raised  a  cry.  They  thought  it  would  answer  at  least 
for  a  campaign  ;  and  it  really  did  answer,  to  an  extent  I  had 
never  expected,  amongst  the  uneducated  people  of  this  most 
noble  country,  a  class  of  people,  indeed,  which  I  find  to  be  in 
very  enormous  proportion  to  the  rest.  No  old  story  out  of  Fox's 
"  Book  of  Mart5n:s  "  was  too  monstrous  to  be  dwelt  upon  by  the 
orators  of  this  grand  Protestant  movement.  The  old  women 
of  all  the  three  sexes — mascuhne,  feminine,  and  neuter — were  to 
be  frightened  and  irritated,  and  this  was  easy  enough. 

An  apostate  Itahan  priest,  named  Gavazzi,  had  come  but 
lately  to  this  country,  and  had  gone  roimd  lecturing  agains:^ 
the  Pope  and  the  Irish  servant  girls.  Two  Englishmen  had 
undertaken  the  business  of  street  preachers  in  New  York  and 
Brooklyn,  and  had  caused  many  Sunday  riots  in  both  cities ; 
for,  our  young  firemen  and  other  rowdies  are  willing  enough  to 


JAIL  JOURNAL  381 

be  amused  on  a  Sunday,  and  will  turn  out,  with  their  revolvers 
in  good  repair  if  they  have  a  chance  to  fight  the  Pope  or  his 
emissaries.  They  are  not  going  to  stand  (our  rowdies  are  not) 
invasion  and  conquest  of  this  free  country  by  armies  of  Dominican 
Friars,  who  will  stretch  us  on  the  rack  while  they  hold  crucifixes 
to  our  noses.  Perish  the  thought !  In  short,  the  patriotic 
rowdies  very  generally  went  into  this  Know-Nothing  business. 
One  of  the  English  street  preachers  who  disturbed  our  Sundays 
was  Folgar ;  another  was  Orr,  a  crazy  fellow,  who  was  called 
the  "  Angel  Gabriel " — indeed  the  creat^e  wore  this  device 
upon  his  hat. 

On  the  whole,  I  think  it  would  be  h^rd  to  point  out  in  the 
history  of  any  civiHsed  (or  demi-civiUsed)  country  so  foolish,  so 
filthy,  so  imbecile  a  movement  as  this  of  the  Know-Nothings, 
and  the  "  mystery  of  iniquity,"  in  the  densely  populated  parts 
of  the  city  chiefly  inhabited  by  Irish  Catholics ;  and  these, 
though  patient  and  good-humoured,  could  not  always  endure 
the  outrage.  Brick-bats  appeared  in  the  air ;  then  it  turned 
out  that  the  congregation  of  the  street-preachers  had  all  come 
armed  with  revolvers,  then  bludgeons,  fence  rails,  and  the  like, 
came  into  requisition  ;  heads  broken  on  the  one  side,  pistol- 
wounds  received  on  the  other.  Such  was  the  result  of  the  day's 
exercises.  But  the  worst  part  of  the  affair  was  that  while  the 
anti-Papist  mania  was  raging,  not  the  slightest  attempt  was 
anywhere  made  to  throw  the  shield  of  legal  protection  over  the 
people  thus  menaced.  In  September,  the  "  Protestant  Associa- 
tion," of  New  York,  went  over  to  New  Jersey,  made  a  procession 
in  Newark,  made  a  riot,  and  attacked  and  wrecked  the  Catholic 
church  of  that  town.  One  man  was  killed,  many  others  were 
l5adly  wounded.  It  all  happened  at  noon-day ;  nobody  was 
ever  even  charged  with  having  a  hand  in  it,  to  say  nothing  of 
being  brought  to  justice.  In  fact,  there  was  a  great  general 
consent  to  suppress  all  evidence.  Commenting  on  which  the 
Citizen  said : — 

"  Newark,  it  seems,  has  no  adequate  police  force  to  rely 
upon  in  such  an  emergency  for  prevention  of  outrage.  But  has 
Newark  no  magistrates.  New  Jersey  no  supreme  court  for  its 
pimishment  ?  Out  of  an  armed  mob  who  sack  a  church  in  open 
noon-day  not  one  has  been  arrested.    A  man  is  killed  j    a 


382  JAIL  JOURNAL 

coroner's  jury  sits  upon  his  body ;  but  the  jury  know  nothing. 
There  is,  in  fact,  no  evidence  to  incriminate  anybody.  Witnesses 
'  saw  a  man  '  pursue  the  deceased  with  a  gun  ;  saw '  two  persons ' 
following  Pigeon  ;  '  men  in  the  procession '  fired  shots,  but 
nobody  can  tell  who  the  man,  the  men,  or  the  persons  may  be. 
John  Wilson,  of  Lodge  No.  4,  swears  he  was  in  the  procession, 
and  '  did  not  see  anyone  molest  the  Catholic  church  nor  know 
that  there  was  any  row.'  One  Sears,  a  Wesleyan  teacher,  '  saw 
a  woman,  with  a  rifle  or  pistol,  going  from  the  rear  of  the  church 
— doubtless,  the  woman  who  lay  in  wait  there  to  shoot  the 
procession — ^but '  will  not  swear  that  it  was  not  a  broomstick  ! '  " 

The  appearance  of  the  scene  of  the  outrage  is  thus  described  : 
"  The  CathoUc  church  which  was  destroyed  is  a  German 
church,  and  is  in  William  Street.  It  presents  a  truly  desolate 
appearance.  The  fences  are  shattered,  the  shrubs  about  the 
door  crushed  and  broken  ;  and,  in  the  interior,  the  altar  over- 
turned, the  sacred  utensils  and  sacerdotal  robes  strewed  around 
and  trampled  upon — the  organ  broken  to  pieces.  The  images, 
consisting  of  a  costly  Munich  figure  of  the  Madonna,  and  Crucifix 
corresponding,  togethei  with  the  pictures,  altar-piece,  and  a 
splendid  holy-water  font,  were  also  destroyed." 

However,  it  swept  over  the  country  like  a  storm,  and  had 
many  riots  in  the  cities,  and  gave  rise  to  very  shameful  outrages 
upon  peaceable  people.  Of  course,  the  Irish  Orangemen  dwelling 
in  this  country  attached  themselves  to  the  new  party,  although 
themselves  proscribed  by  it ;  but  they  understood  well  enough 
that  its  blows  would  be  aimed  mainly  against  the  CathoUc  Irish  ; 
and  they  were  always  ready  for  that  kind  of  game.  I  say  Irish 
Orangemen,  not  Irish  Protestants ;  for  it  would  be  grossly 
imjust  to  charge  the  great  body  of  Protestants,  whether  in  Ire- 
land or  the  United  States,  with  any  participation  in  that  shameful 
conspiracy.  Thousands  of  EngUshmen  also  joined  the  Know- 
Nothing  Lodges,  and  wealthy  English  merchants  in  several  cities 
contributed  largely  to  election  expenses  for  candidates  of  this 
party.  In  truth,  the  whole  affair  was  rather  British  than 
American.  It  arose  here  after  the  famous  agitation  in  England 
against  "  Papal  Aggression  "  ;  it  carefully  reproduced  all  English 
abuse  and  calumny  against  Catholics,  and  even  a  wrecked 
churcji  or  two,  not  to  fall  behind  our  Anglo-Saxon  exemplars. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  383 

I  may  as  well  mention  two  or  three  characteristic  incidents  of 
this  odious  affair,  and  so  wash  my  hands  of  the  whole  vile 
business.  All  the  summer,  in  this  year  1854,  the  excitement 
kept  increasing ;  there  were  riots  excited  (most  naturally  and 
necessarily)  by  the  foul-mouthed  vociferations  of  street-preachers 
EngUshmen  all — against  Jezabel. 

As  to  the  Protestant  Associations  which  sprang  up  and  became 
rampant  at  that  period  they  had  various  names.  One,  I  think, 
was  the  Columbia  Lodge,  another  the  Mount  Vernon — for  they 
took  care  to  give  themselves  patriotic  American  titles. 

Here  is  a  card  that  was  sent  to  me  announcing  a  sort  of  re- 
ligious or  comic  meeting,  which  duly  came  off  as  advertised : — 

Bible  Presentation  to  Mount  Vernon  Lodge  No.  14  A.P.A.,  at 
i8th  Street  M.  E.  Church  (between  Eighth  and  Ninth  Avenues),  on  Tuesday 
evening,  September  19th,  1854. 

The  following  eminent  speakers  have  been  engaged  :  Rev.  J.  S.  Inskip, 
Rev.  T.  L.  Cuyler,  Nathan  Nisbet,  Esq. ;  also  the  following  popular 
singers :  S.  Brouwer,  Esq.  ;  James  G.  Scott,  Esq. ;  Miss  Ra3mer,  Miss 
Hendricks. 

The  Waldense  Guard  have  accepted  ah  invitation  to  be  present. 

Programme 
Singing  .....         Mr.  Scott 


Duet 
Singing 

Presentation  of  Bible 
Reception  of  Bible 


Miss  Ravner  &  Miss  Hendricks 

Mr.  Brouwer 

Rev.  J.  S.  Inski? 

Rev.  T.  L.  Cuyler 

Singing  .  "  We  won't  give  up  the  Bible  "  Mr.  Scott 

Singing  .  .  Comic  .  Mr  Brouwer 

Address  on  the  History,  Aims,  and  Objects 

of  the  A.P.A.  N.  NisriKX 

Duet      .  .  .  . '  Misses  Rayner  &  Hendricks 

Singing  .  .  .  .  .    Mr.  Brouwer 

Singing  .         "  Hail  Columbia ! "  .  Audience 

Tickets,  25  cents.     Exercises  to  commence  at  eight  o'clock. 

The  Mount  Vernon  Lodge  and  its  backers,  bible-readers  and 
comic  singers,  met  accordingly  and  had  a  good  time.  One  of 
the  speakers  explained  that  the  organisation  had  been  got  up 
by  some  faithful  Irish  Protestants  who  desired  to  see  as  good 
and  true-blue  a  body  of  Orangemen  here  as  at  home  (a  great 
fic(juisition  it  would  be  to  Apieric?^  spciety),  glori^ed  the  Pattl§ 


384  JAIL  JOURNAL 

of  the  605016,  the  Siege  of  Derry,  and  the  sacking  of  Newark 
CathoHc  church  ;  and  declared  that,  Repubhcan  as  he  was, 
rather  than  let  Catholics  bear  rule  in  this  Republic,  he  would 
have  another  King  William  in  America. 

Of  course  the  Bible  was  presented  and  received.  "  We 
Won't  Give  up  the  Bible  "  was  sung  with  much  spirit  to  the 
tune  of  "  We  Won't  go  Home  till  Morning,"  and  then  the  faith- 
ful were  regaled  by  a  comic  song. 

So  ended  the  "  exercises." 

Far  away  in  Maine,  at  a  place  called  Ellsworth,  a  most  horrible 
deed  was  perpetrated.  A  poor  old  priest,  named  Bapst,  was 
seized  upon  by  a  furious  mob,  dragged  out  of  the  house  of  a  friend, 
where  he  was  staying,  marched  through  the  streets  of  this  town 
of  enlightened  New  England,  beaten,  stripped  naked,  robbed  of 
his  watch,  and  his  money,  coated  with  tar  and  feathers,  "  ridden 
on  a  rail,"  and  so  expelled  from  the  place  almost  a  dead  man. 
Nobody  at  all  in  that  place  seemed  to  have  interfered,  or  so  much 
as  remonstrated.  Apparently,  they  were  all  in  it  ;  and,  in  fact, 
the  thing  was  done  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  passed  at  a  town 
meeting.  For  poor  Father  Bapst,  like  many  other  Catholic 
clergymen,  had  objected  against  the  young  people  of  his  flock 
being  forced  in  the  common  schools  to  bolt  King  James's  Bible. 
He  had  done  more  ;  he  had  appealed  to  the  laws  of  the  State 
to  protect  his  young  flock  against  that  illegal  imposition.  So,  on 
the  8th  of  July,  a  town  meeting  unanimously  adopted  the  follow- 
ing preamble  and  resolution,  offered  bj^  G.  W.  Maddox,  Esq.  : — 

"  Whereas  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  we  are  indebted 
to  one  John  Bapst,  S.J.,  Catholic  Priest,  for  the  luxury  of  the 
present  lawsuit  now  enjoyed  by  the  School  Committee  of  Ells- 
worth ;   therefore, 

"  Resolved — That  should  the  same  Bapst  be  found  again 
upon  Ellsworth  soil,  we  manifest  our  gratitude  for  his  kindly 
interference  with  our  free  schools,  and  attempts  to  banish  the 
Bible  therefrom,  by  procuring  for  him  and  trying  on  an  entire 
suit  of  new  clothes,  such  as  cannot  be  found  at  the  shops  of 
any  tailor,  and  that  when  thus  apparelled,  he  be  presented 
with  a  free  ticket  to  leave  Ellsworth  upon  the  first  railroad 
operation  that  may  go  into  effect." 

It  is  a  community  which  carries  into  practice  that  which  it 
has  professed,  so  the  next  time  this  poor  old  Father  came  to 


John  Mitchel 

(Paris,  1861) 


JAIL  JOURNAL  385 

Ellsworth  in  the  course  of  his  missionary  labours  he  was  used  as 
I  have  mentioned.  The  worst  of  all  remains.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  have  seven  of  the  assailants  of  the  priest  indicted  before 
the  grand  jury  of  Hancock  County,  at  Ellsworth ;  it  failed,  the  bill 
was  thrown  out,  nobody  would  know  anything,  witnesses  all  Know- 
Nothings ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  highly  probable  that  several  members 
of  that  grand  jury  had  themselves  helped  to  compose  the  mob. 

Such  things  as  these  occurring  from  time  to  time  were  ex- 
cessively exasperating,  and,  I  confess,  that  my  enthusiasm 
about  my  new  country  began  to  abate.  Take  another  sample 
or  two  : — In  the  last  ^ays  of  May,  a  fugitive  slave  from  the 
South  was  arrested  in  Boston,  and  held  by  the  proper  authorities, 
to  be  returned  to  his  master.  A  riot,  or,  rather  an  insurrection, 
at  once  arose,  and  raged  in  the  streets  and  around  the  court- 
house for  some  days.  It  was  instigated  notoriously  by  a  clergy- 
man and  a  few  well-known  political  agitators,  and  its  object, 
of  course,  was  to  resist  the  enforcement  of  the  law.  The  United 
States  Marshal  called  for  troops  in  order  to  maintain  the  law 
and  suppress  rioters.  Amongst  the  troops  were  two  companies 
of  Irish  militia,  and  these  at  once  became  a  special  cause  of 
horror  and  excitation  to  the  Know-Nothing  ;  and  "  Higher  Law  " 
rabble.  They  did  their  duty,  however,  kept  the  streets  clear ; 
saw  the  poor  fugitive  shipped  off  to  his  owner,  I  am  happy  to 
say  no  Irishman  took  any  part  in  that  riot  except  on  the  side  of 
law.  The  Irish  soldiers  were  not  charged,  then  or  afterwards, 
with  having  maltreated  anyone,  or  having  used  the  least  violence 
more  than  was  needful  to  execute  their  orders.  One  Irishman, 
named  Batchelder,  was  one  of  the  deputy-marshals  on  duty  in 
the  court-house  ;  and  the  court-house  doors  were  forced,  and 
Batchelder  was  shot  dead  upon  the  stairs.  So  far  the  affair 
bore  an  Abolitionist,  not  a  Know-Nothing  aspect ;  but  most 
AboUtionists  were  also  Know-Nothings ;  and  from  that  day  the 
people  of  Boston  were  resolute  to  have  revenge  upon  those 
Irish  soldiers  who  had  kept  law  and  order  in  their  streets  and 
prevented  the  party  of  "  Higher  Law  "  from  working  its  wicked 
will.  In  short,  very  soon  after,  public  opinion  compelled  the 
Know-Nothing  Governor  of  the  State  to  disband  and  disarm 
all  the  Irish  militia  ! 

The  very  same  thing  was  done  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin  ; 

25 


386  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Irish  military  organisations  were  suppressed,  without  even  the 
excuse  that  they  had  executed  their  orders  in  obedience  to  the  law. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  this  year,  at  Framingham,  in  Massachusetts, 
by  way  of  celebrating  Independence  Day,  the  population  solemnly 
bvuned  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ;  on  the  same  day, 
or  within  one  week,  three  Catholic  Churches  were  wrecked  in 
New  England.  Whether  all  this  meant  Know-Nothing  or 
Abolition  fury,  it  signifies  little  now  to  enquire  and  determine. 
The  Irish  were  hated,  both  as  Catholics  who  disUked  common 
schools,  and  as  law-abiding  men  who  would  not  bum  the  Con- 
stitution, but,  on  the  contrary,  would  turn  out  and  enforce  its 
provisions.  Hard  times  those,  for  my  poor  countrymen  in 
America  !  I  confess  that  I  often  found  myself  in  a  rage.  There 
seemed  to  be  developing  in  this  people  a  spirit  of  lawlessness 
and  brigandage,  and  how  long  such  a  country  might  be  tenable 
I  had  doubts. 

In  the  meantime  some  invitations  which  I  received  from 
various  cities  of  the  South  tempted  me  to  escape  a  little  while 
from  New  York  and  visit  that  horrible  slave-driving  country, 
where  I  had  not  yet  my  well-stocked  plantation.*  The  good 
Southerners  it  appears  had  admired  my  audacity  in  declaring 
for  negro  slavery,  though  I  had  not  been  conscious  of  any  act 
of  daring  at  all.  So  I  had  a  warm  invitation  from  the  Mayor  and 
Council  of  the  famous  city  of  Richmond  in  Virginia.  They 
desired  to  feast  me  there.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  quit  the 
feverish  atmosphere  of  New  York  and  breathe  the  air  of  the 
mountain  woods. 

The  Journal  describes  Mitchel's  visit  to  Virginia,  and  inci- 
dentally contains  this  reflection  on  Washington  :  "No  more 
respectable  man  than  this  George  Washington  ever  rose  to 
power  or  fame  in  any  nation.  Not  a  great  genius,  if  you  like, 
but  there  is  something  greater  than  genius  :  Stainless  good 
faith,  inflexible  justice,  a  modesty  and  moderation  which  in 
such  a  position  as  his  was  sublime  ;  a  large  and  generous 
patriotism  ;  a  brave  calm  soul  that  could  steadily  review  the 
perils  which  must  beset  the  new  country,  and,  seeing  them, 

*  A  jocose  allusion  to  the  passage  in  Mitchel's  public  letter  to  James 
Haughton  in  which  he  wrote :  "  We  for  our  part  wish  we  had  a  good 
plantation,  well-stocked  with  healthy  negroes  in  Alabama."  This  passage 
used  to  be  hysterically  quoted  by  the  Abolitionist  press. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  387 

warned  his  countrymen  against  them  :  pray  God  they  may 
heed  him.  At  anyrate  I  take  off  my  hat  reverently  before  the 
trees  of  Mount  Vernon."    It  resumes : — 

The  Release  of  Smith  O'Brien 

June  yd,  1854. — Returned  to  Brookl5m,  and  to  my  work  on 
the  Citizen.  The  news  coming  in  from  Europe  twice  or  thrice  a 
week  is  provoking.  All  the  efforts  of  England  and  France  are 
directed  to  the  great  end  of  confining  and  hemming  in  the  war 
against  Russia  far  away  in  the  East,  on  the  mouths  of  the 
Danube  and  within  the  sealed  orifices  of  the  Black  and 
Baltic  Seas;  and  even  there  to  make  it  as  small  and  tame 
a  war  as  possible.  In  fact,  although  great  allied  fleets  are 
occupying  these  two  seas,  the  only  service  they  have  yet 
done  is  re-opening  the  slave  trade  in  white  girls  from  the 
Caucasus ;  a  trade  which  the  Russians  had  wholly  stopped 
to  the  great  injury  of  Moslem  Zenanas.  And,  although  large 
armies  have  long  since  arrived  in  Turkey,  they  have  lain  quite 
idle,  while  the  Turkish  army  alone,  under  Omar  Pasha,  has 
bravely  fought  the  Russians  at  every  step  of  their  advance 
towards  the  Danube.  It  will  not,  I  fear,  be  a  general  European 
war  this  time  ;  and  as  Russia,  too,  evidently  can  do  nothing 
towards  aiding  our  Irish  insurrection,  I  have  lost  my  interest 
in  that  war,  save  the  general  interest  I  feel  in  anything  which 
may  lead  to  the  discomfiture  and  humiliation  of  England  on  any 
land  or  water. 

It  gives  pleasure,  also,  to  the  well-regulated  mind  to  perceive 
that  public  opinion  in  the  United  States  is  fast  coming  round 
to  the  Russian  side.  But  this,  after  all,  is  but  a  speculative, 
contingent  and  conditional  public  opinion,  conditional  upon 
success ;  and  why  should  it  be  otherwise  ?  Americans  have 
nothing  at  stake  in  the  matter.  One  cannot  see  that  they  need 
care  whether  Russia  succeeds  in  taking  possession  of  Constanti- 
nople this  time,  or  has  to  wait  till  the  next  time  the  Eastern 
question  comes  up.  No  matter ;  the  cause  of  the  allies  is 
somewhat  at  a  discount  here ;  the  high  moral  professions  of 
England  in  undertaking  this  war  begin  to  be  understood :  and 
this  is  my  business.  While  I  can  hold  a  pen,  it  must  forever 
be  my  most  sacred  duty  to  expose  and  turn  inside  out  the  hateful 
cant  of  that  diaboUcal  Power. 


388  JAIL  JOURNAL 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  immediately  after  our  arrival 
here  our  friend,  Pat.  J.  Smyth,  set  fort;h  on  a  new  expedition 
to  Van  Diemen's  Land  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  the  escape 
of  Smith  O'Brien.  His  experience  in  this  kind  of  service  had 
proved  that  it  was  practicable  ;  and  he  knew  that  O'Brien 
would,  on  the  next  occasion,  willingly  adopt  the  same  course 
which  had  been  found  effectual  before  ;  namely,  surrender  him- 
self in  the  Police-office,  withdrawing  his  parole  by  that  act ; 
and  then  suffering  himself  to  be  rescued  and  carried  off.  Money 
was  supplied  to  Smyth  for  the  needful  expenses  of  the  enter- 
prise by  the  committee  in  New  York  which  had  charge  of  an 
Irish  Revolutionary  fund.  He  started  first  by  way  of  Ireland  and 
England,  designing  to  take  passage  in  one  of  the  great  Australian 
steamships  from  thence.  It  seems  he  took  no  trouble  to  conceal 
his  mission  ;  which,  in  fact,  became  known  immediately  to  the 
enemy's  Government ;  and  he  had  not  long  started  on  his  voyage 
when  Lord  Palmerston  announced  in  Parliament  that  Her  Majesty 
was  about  to  "  pardon  "  Mr.  Smith  O'Brien.  This  announce- 
ment was  made  about  the  ist  of  March  last  (1854),  ^^^  ^^^ 
moment  it  appeared  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  it  was  evident 
to  those  who  understood  the  tricks  of  the  English  Government 
that  a  cheat  was  meant.  The  old  Minister,  with  the  air  of  frank 
bonhomie,  which  no  rogue  knew  better  how  to  assume,  first 
praised  Mr.  O'Brien  for  having  "  acted  as  a  gentleman  "  in 
observing  his  parole  (as  if  his  comrades  had  not  done  the  same), 
stated  that  he  (O'Brien)  was  now  to  be  "  permitted  to  apply 
for  the  means  "  of  gaining  his  pardon  and  his  liberty — that  is 
to  say,  would  get  a  pardon  if  he  would  beg  for  a  pardon  by  written 
petition  ;  such  being  the  routine  in  such  cases.  But  Lord 
Palmerston  knew  that  Mr.  O'Brien  would  never  beg  a  pardon, 
and  that  therefore  this  gracious  clemency  would  do  him  no 
good. 

The  motif  of  the  cheat  was  also  plain  enough  :  first,  it  was 
believed  highly  probable  that  P.  J.  Smyth  would  accomplish 
his  purpose  to  carry  Mr.  O'Brien  to  the  United  States  ;  and  next, 
the  Government  found  it  very  hard  just  then  to  procure  recruits 
for  the  army  in  Ireland.  That  service  was  becoming  extremely 
odious  there,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  has  been  growing  more  and 
more  hateful  ever  since.    It  was  known  that  the  liberation  of 


JAIL  JOURNAL  389 

O'Brien — or  even  the  treacherous  promise  of  his  liberation — 
would  be  received  as  a  great  "  boon  "  by  our  too  warm-hearted 
and  credulous  people,  and  might  make  the  work  of  recruiting- 
sergeants  easier.  In  fact,  so  much  at  a  loss  was  the  enemy  for 
men  at  that  moment  that  EngUsh  agents  were  even  commissioned 
to  recruit  American  citizens  in  the  United  States,  in  breach  of 
American  laws ;  an  attempt  which  was  promptly  checked, 
though  not  punished  in  so  condign  a  manner  as  it  ought  to  have 
been.  In  short,  the  Ministers,  to  "  make  capital "  in  Ireland  for 
recruiting  purposes,  determined  to  talk  of  pardoning  O'Brien,  but 
not  to  do  it  if  they  could  find  any  excuse.  Remark,  too,  that 
this  preliminary  announcement  of  Lord  Palmerston  said  not 
one  word  about  John  Martin  and  Kevin  O'Doherty,  who  were 
O'Brien's  comrades,  held  as  prisoners  under  the  same  conditions 
with  him,  and  who  had  been  prisoners  to  their  own  word  only, 
as  well  as  he  ;  but  with  this  difference,  that  whereas  he  had  been 
only  two  years  a  prisoner  on  parole,  they  had  both  been  four 
years  in  this  situation.  It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  point 
out,  in  the  case  of  a  person  like  Lord  Palmerston,  that  the  reason 
assigned  for  liberating  O'Brien — namely,  that  he  had  acted  as  a 
gentleman  in  keeping  his  parole — was  tJierefore  an  untruth.  The 
others  had  done  so  just  twice  as  long,  and  there  was  no  hint  of 
pardoning  them  at  all. 

In  the  meantime  liberator  Smyth  was  doubling  the  Cape,  and 
tearing  through  the  Indian  Ocean,  with  a  very  deliberate  head 
and  a  very  resolute  heart.  He  had  scarcely  arrived  at  Melbourne, 
when  he  was  overtaken  by  the  Parliamentary  report  containing 
Palmerston' s  announcement ;  and  although  he  probably  under- 
stood very  well  that  it  was  intended  as  a  fraud,  yet  it  stayed 
his  operation  for  a  while.  Mr.  O'Brien  never  believed  that  the 
Government  would  really  require  of  hinj  to  beg  for  pardon  like 
a  real  convict,  and  was  willing  to  abide  the  issue  of  this  noble 
"  clemency."     Smyth  waited. 

He  waited  for  months,  having  a  very  shrewd  suspicion  that 
the  "  Government  "  would  so  offer  their  pardon  that  it  could 
not  be  accepted,  and  that  his  own  agency  would  have  to  come 
in  at  last.  In  fact,  there  was  unaccoimtable  delay.  In  Ireland 
people  could  make  nothing  of  it.  Mr.  O'Brien's  family  prepared 
to  meet  him  on  the  Continent,  for  he  was  not  to  be  permitted 


390  JAIL  JOURNAL 

to  set  foot  on  Irish  ground  ;  but  still  he  came  not.  He,  on  his 
side,  together  with  Martin  and  O'Doherty,  had  been  told  they 
were  to  be  pardoned,  and  made  ready  to  sail ;  but  were  coldly 
informed  by  the  local  Government  that  there  was  no  pardon 
for  them  yet.  In  fact,  every  steamer  brought  out  fresh  instruc- 
tions ;  and  our  noble  "  Government "  was  puzzled.  It  went 
to  their  hearts  to  release  these  gentlemen  without  some  word  or 
sign  of  contrition  ;  and  this  it  was  well  known  could  not  be 
accorded.  The  public  feeling  in  Ireland  was  a  good  deal  excited 
by  the  delay ;  one  cause  of  this  excitement  being  the  exposure 
made  by  the  New  York  Citizen  of  the  treacherous  scheme  of 
the  Minister  to  attract  Irish  recruits  under  a  false  pretence. 
In  fact  it  was  feared  that  not  much  progress  could  be  made  in 
conciliating  the  Irish,  unless  these  prisoners  should  be  actually 
and  freely  released  without  conditions  or  formahties.  So  the 
final  instructions  were  at  length  despatched — to  let  those  three 
gentlemen  go.  This  was  in  July.  At  once  there  were  demonstra- 
tions of  respect  and  good-will  towards  the  late  prisoners  on  the 
part  of  the  colonists  of  all  nationalities.  When  they  arrived  at 
Launceston,  on  their  way  to  Melbourne,  the  inhabitants  presented 
them  with  an  address  and  offered  them  a  banquet,  which  they 
declined.  On  arrival,  however,  at  the  great  city  of  Melbourne, 
the  enthusiastic  desire  to  greet  them  and  welcome  them  back 
to  freedom  could  not  be  resisted,  and  a  grand  banquet  was 
organised. 

Truly  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  British  Government 
had  its  appetite  for  poUtical  prisoners  spoiled  by  this  time. 
They  do  not  agree  with  its  constitution.  O'Brien  and  his  friends 
took  care  not  to  leave  their  penal  colonies  even,  without  showing 
plainly  in  what  spirit  they  receive  the  gracious  clemency  of  their 
Queen.  At  this  great  Melbourne  feast,  Mr.  O'Brien,  on  the  first 
public  occasion  he  is  allowed,  even  before  he  quits  the  British 
Colonies,  and  while  yet  under  the  shadow  of  the  Union  Jack, 
reasserts  the  principles  and  vindicates  the  cause  that  inspired 
him  to  contend  for  the  liberties  and  the  lives  of  his  countrymen, 
in  the  Senate,  "  and  if  needful  in  the  field."  He  repels  the 
mean  attempt  (base  and  false  as  he  knows  it  to  be)  to  conciliate 
his  good  humour,  and  at  least  purchase  his  silence  by  praising 
him  at  the  expense  of  his  comrades.     He  gives  the  coward, 


jAtL  JOURNAL  391 

Palmerston,  the  lie  direct.  He  scorns  the  idea  of  soUcitation 
for  anything — to  the  mortal  enemies  of  his  oppressed  country. 
In  especial  he  rejects  and  repudiates  all  compUmentary 
allusions  of  the  minister  to  himself ;  and  sets  down  his  heel 
upon  that  hateful  calumny — that  Meagher,  MacManus  and  this 
present  writer,  had  broken  our  parole  in  leaving  the  island  of 
bondage.  Certainly  not  much  was  gained  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  the  whole  affair  of  these  "  traitors  "  of  '48  ;  yet  still 
we  see  that  there  is  a  craving  to  chain  up  the  hands  that  write, 
and  gag  the  mouths  that  speak,  of  Ireland's  right  against  Eng- 
land's wrong. 

The  Virginian  Address 

June  24th. — I  am  on  my  way  to  Virginia  in  fulfilment  of  my 
promise  to  make  an  oration  at  the  University  Commencement. 
Received  at  the  station  by  the  presidents  of  the  literary  societies, 
and  by  old  Doctor  Gessner  Harrison,  President  of  the  Board  of 
Professors,  to  whose  house  I  am  at  once  conducted.  The  Annual 
Commencement  here  is  always  a  kind  of  fete ;  the  parents  and 
friends  of  the  students  generedly  assemble  in  this  hohday  season 
to  witness  the  ceremonies  and  to  accompany  their  young  friends 
to  their  homes :  £ind  as  the  University  is  quite  thriving  this 
year,  with  four  hxmdred  students  and  more,  there  is  a  large 
concourse  of  fashionable  folk  in  Charlottesville  and  its  neigh- 
bourhood. The  weather  is  lovely,  and  the  country  in  Albemarle 
County  blooming  Uke  some  great  pleasure-ground ;  but  the 
old  pasture  fields  are  blushing  with  the  wild  red  strawberries 
which  are  especially  fine  and  abundant  in  Virginia. 

The  day  came,  the  28th.  "  Entering  the  stately  Rotunda, 
under  its  colonnade  of  Corinthian  pillars,  and  passing  through 
a  large  octagonal  hall,  we  enter  the  new  and  handsome  building 
in  the  rear.  Its  benches  are  already  crowded,  mostly  with  ladies 
in  bright  summer  costumes ;  the  atmosphere  is  perfumed  by  a 
hundred  bouquets  and  cooled  by  the  fluttering  of  five  hundred 
fans.  At  the  upper  end  is  a  handsome  carpeted  platform, 
already  occupied  by  professors,  by  State  examiners,  and  other 
notabilities.  At  the  other  end  is  a  gallery  accommodating  a 
fine  band,  brought  especially  from  Baltimore,  which  makes 
some  music  in  the  intervals  of  the  business. 


392  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Classes  are  called  up ;  the  names  of  students  entitled  to 
degrees  are  announced,  and  the  students  come  up,  one  by  one, 
to  receive  their  due  documents,  sometimes  accompanied  by 
words  of  special  praise  and  honour,  which  make  the  youths 
blush,  but  call  forth  a  murmur  of  applause,  and  the  general 
clapping  of  little  gloved  hands. 

And  this,  then,  is  an  University  commencement.  How 
diiferent  from  those !  I  remember  once,  of  a  certain  wintry 
morning — it  was  the  Easter  Commencement  at  Trinity  College — 
where,  in  one  of  the  great  blank  quadrangles,  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  students,  in  funereal  black  gowns,  were  clustered 
in  front  of  a  great,  dismal,  iron-grated  entrance,  in  the 
portico  of  the  "  theatre."  Presently  a  procession  of  Fellows, 
also  in  trailing  black  robes,  passed  slowly  through  us,  with 
their  eyes  on  the  .ground ;  the  iron  gates  were  solemnly 
flung  open,  and  all  entered  the  noble  hall,  yet  dim  with  the 
mist  of  night  and  cold  as  the  nave  of  St.  Patrick's.  When 
all  were  seated  according  to  their  classes,  the  grim  Fellows 
went  around  slowly,  administering  certain  oaths  in  Latin,  in  a 
low  voice,  and  with  a  demeanour  perfectly  stony.  That  was  all ; 
it  was  all  over  in  an  hour,  and  we  were  directed  to  call  at  the 
porter's  lodge  for  the  parchment  testimonium  of  our  degrees. 
We  came  out  with  a  feeling  of  depression,  and  shivering  with 
mere  cold.  No  gala  gathering  of  friends  there — no  music,  no 
flowers  nor  fans,  nor  bright  eyes  rzdning  influence ! 

Which  is  the  better  system — the  Dublin  or  the  Charlottesville 
one  ?  I  mean  better  in  an  academic  point  of  view  ;  for  which 
is  the  pleasanter  no  one  need  doubt.  Well,  the  degrees  are 
awarded,  and  an  address  made  by  the  President.  After  some 
music  from  the  band  my  time  came,  and  I  was  nervous,  for  I 
saw  very  well  my  audience  was  a  critical  one — some  of  the  fore- 
most Virginizms  were  upon  that  platform — and  I  knew  that  I 
was  going  to  shock  some  of  the  current  and  accepted  opinions 
of  our  times.  The  address  was  on  "  Progress  in  the  Nineteenth 
Century,"  and  the  drift  of  it  was  to  show  that  there  is  no  pro- 
gress at  all ;  that  is,  making  men  wiser,  happier,  or  better  than 
they  were  thirty  centuries  ago  ;  but  admitting,  also,  that  they 
are  no  worse,  no  more  fooUsh,  no  more  wretched  than  they 
were  at  that  period  and  ever  since.     Of  course,  gas,  steam, 


JAIL  JOURNAL  393 

printing  press,  upholstering,  and  magnetic  telegraphs  could  not 
be  denied ;  but  they  were  put  aside  as  altogether  irrelevant  to 
the  inquiry.  I  could  see  that  those  around,  how  courteously 
soever  they  listened,  and  even  sometimes  applauded,  did  not 
in  their  own  hearts  assent  to  my  conclusions.  That  over,  and 
more  than  due  applause  given,  two  or  three  representative 
students,  who  had  just  graduated,  delivered  very  eloquent 
speeches.  Then,  after  music,  and  more  music,  the  assembly 
began  to  break  up.  There  were  introductions  and  pohte  greet- 
ings, next — after  some  walking  in  the  groimds — a  quiet  dinner 
at  Dr.  Harrison's  where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  two  or 
three  of  the  professors. 

Next  day  but  one  I  determined  to  proceed  homeward  by  a 
road  new  to  me  ;  in  short  to  cross  the  Blue  Ridge  by  a  railway 
to  Staunton,  and  thence  go  down  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah, 
by  Winchester  to  Harper's  Ferry.  Four  of  the  students  whose 
home  lay  beyond  the  mountains  were  to  start  with  me.  First, 
however,  I  had  to  pass  another  day  at  the  University,  and  spent 
the  evening  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  professors,  wljere  I  met 
old  Andrew  Stevenson,  former  Minister  to  London,  who 
once  took  it  into  his  head  to  challenge  O'Connell.  O'Connell 
was  not  at  that  time  a  fighting  man,  but  one  of  his  sons  offered 
himself  as  a  substitute ;  a  proposal  which  was  declined.  Mr. 
Stevenson  is  a  very  loquacious  old  gentleman  ;  talks  well,  but 
too  much  [he  has  died  since]. 

This  visit  to  the  Virginia  University  has  been  to  me  a  very 
great  pleasure  as  well  as  a  high  honour.  The  weather  has  been 
charming,  the  people  all  kind.  It  forms  a  bright  picture  which 
I  hang  up  in  the  chambers  of  my  memory,  framed  with  gold 
and  wreathed  with  flowers.  After  some  friendly  farewells  we 
are  off,  my  four  companions  and  myself,  and  it  happened  that 
one  of  these  students  was  named  Grattan,  Irish  by  descent ; 
and  he  had  actually  the  thin  aquiline  nose,  the  eye  and  the  jaw 
of  the  other  Grattan  whom  you  wot  of.  He  said  his  father's 
people  were  of  that  family,  but  how  near  of  kin'  lie  knew  not.* 

We  soon  get  among  i:he  hills,  the  radices  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 

which  we  have  to  cross  by  Rockfish  gap,  a  depression  in  the 

*  In  1869  when  the  Grattan  statue  in  Gallege  Green,  Dublin,  was 
projected,  Mitchel  contributed  the  proceeds  of  some  of  his  lectures  to 
its  erection. 


394  JAIL  JOURNAL 

range  where  it  is  not  more  than  1,500  feet  above  the  sea.  I 
snuff  with  dehght  the  keen  air  of  the  forest-covered  hills,  laden 
with  the  odours  of  tannin  and  terebinth. 

Irish  Organisations  in  America 

August,  1854. — Again  at  work  upon  the  Citizen  in  New 
York.  Of  course  this  journal  was  not  undertaken  without 
certain  definite  purposes.  One  purpose  was  to  advocate  and 
maintain  the  full  rights  of  Irish  adopted  citizens  to  all  the 
privileges  and  powers  which  purport  to  be  conferred  upon 
them  by  the  Act  of  Naturalisation ;  and  here  we  are  met 
by  this  new  and  violent  outbreak  of  Native-Americanism, 
whose  aim  is  avowedly  to  deprive  them  of  those  powers  and 
privileges  both  as  foreigners  and  as  Catholics.  Another  of 
our  purposes  was  to  make  clear  and  plain  to  naturalised 
Irishmen  themselves  what  their  rights  are  as  American  citizens, 
and  what  they  may  lawfully  and  conscientiously  do  in  the 
direction  of  liberating  their  native  country  from  British  domin- 
ion— a  dear  and  cherished  aspiration  with  them  in  the  past,  as 
it  must  be  in  the  future  ;  and  here  sdso  we  were  met  by  a  very 
general  discouragement  and  apathy,  resulting  from  the  many 
futile  associations  which  have  existed  here  since  1848 — ^revolu- 
tionary societies  for  Ireland,  under  various  successive  names — 
most  of  them  appealing  for  subscriptions  in  money,  as  if  some 
immediate  or  early  attack  were  in  contemplation  upon  the 
British  power.  The  money  subscriptions  had  all  been  lost, 
squandered,  sometimes  stolen,  by  persons  purporting  to  be 
treasurers  and  secretaries,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the 
vast  mass  of  our  people  here  were  shy  of  such  organisations, 
although  as  zealous  as  ever  to  give  of  their  substance  and  of 
their  blood  in  the  good  cause  of  Ireland,  if  only  they  could  see 
their  way.  Many  of  these  were  tired  and  disgusted  by  the 
mere  delay^ — continual  payments  of  money  to  one  society  or 
another,  and  nothing  done  or  begun.  For  our  people  are 
enthusiastic,  fiery,  impatient,  eager  for  quick  results,  and  willingly 
lend  an  ear  to  sanguine  promises.  They  saw  there  was  on 
this  Continent  a  mighty  Irish  power ;  they  knew  that  one 
hundred  thousand  Irishmen  would  joyfully  spring  to  arms  if 
they  could  but  get  within  reach  of  the  tyrants  who  oppressed 


JAIL  JOURNAL  395 

their  kinsmen  at  home  ;  and  now,  instead  of  seeing  any  chance 
of  getting  across  the  Atlantic  with  arms  in  their  hands,  what 
they  did  see  was  an  enormous  migration,  or  rather  flight,  of  their 
friends  and  kindred  across  the  same  Atlantic — but  the  wrong 
way.  On  the  quays  of  New  York,  in  the  year  1854,  ^^  many  as 
thirty  thousand  Irish  were  landed  within  one  month,  so  sweeping 
was  the  effect  of  the  British  policy  of  extirpation. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  shortly  after  my  arrival  in  this 
country  I  had  joined  one  of  these  revolutionary  societies.  The 
men  who  formed  it  meant  well.  Many  of  them  were  devoted 
and  self-sacrificing,  and  would  have  certainly  hailed  and  wel- 
comed a  chance  of  trying  conclusions  with  the  enemy,  in  arms, 
upon  Irish  ground.  But  this  organisation  soon  broke  up.  It 
did  not  collect  nor  ask  for  subscriptions  in  money ;  and,  there- 
fore, as  nobody  was  enabled  to  "  make  a  living  "  by  it,  and  as 
the  same  fatal  impossibility  of  action  was  too  obvious  here  again, 
men  became  lukewarm.  For  my  own  part,  when  I  saw  that  the 
war  with  Russia  was  going  to  be  confined  to  the  East — that 
Russia  herself,  as  the  Russian  Minister  explained  to  me,  could 
not  help  us  at  all,  and  that  France  was  in  fast  alliance  with  our 
enemy,  I  knew  that  no  opportunity  for  Ireland  would  arise 
this  year,  and,  therefore,  quietly  withdrew  from  the  organisation. 
Too  plain  that  a  better  opportunity  must  be  waited  for. 

Another  and  more  general  purpose  of  the  Citizen  was  to  lay 
before  our  Irish-Americans,  from  week  to  week,  the  true  natiure 
of  British  pohcy  in  Europe,  in  America,  and  in  Ireland,  and  to 
refute  and  expose  the  treacherous  representations  of  all  these 
things  which  were  constantly  put  forward  by  the  English  Press, 
and  too  often  adopted  upon  trust  by  that  of  the  United  States. 
If  nothing  decisive  could  just  yet  be  done,  still  a  clear  under- 
standing of  that  atrocious  British  policy,  in  its  minutest  details, 
would  prepare  the  minds  and  hearts  of  our  people  to  act  the 
more  zealously  when  the  day  of  action  came. 

The  Controversy  with  Archbishop  Hughes 

A  great  controversy  existed  that  year  concerning  the  temporal 
sovereignty  of  the  Pope,  who  had  lately  been  reinstated  in  his 
dominions  by  French  arms.  Now,  the  conductors  of  the  Citizen 
were  Democrats,  chiefly  with  a  view  to  the  destinies  of  Ireland, 


396  JAIL  JOURNAL 

because  it  was  plain  that  the  British  dominion  once  overthrown, 
there  was  nothing  possible  for  Ireland,  except  a  RepubUc,  which 
might,  as  in  France,  take  the  form  of  a  military  monarchy,  and 
perhaps  with  much  advantage.  At  anyrate,  the  Citizen  had 
loudly  affirmed  the  right  of  the  people  to  abolish  its  existing 
government  and  to  substitute  another ;  and  agreed  that  if  the 
people  of  the  Roman  States  were  dissatisfied  with  their  form  of 
government,  they  had  the  same  right  which  other  people  had  to 
change  it — peaceably  if  they  could,  violently  if  they  must. 

I  have  since  had  reason  to  think  that  we  had  been  considerably 
misled  by  English  "  Liberal,"  French,  and  American  repre- 
sentatives as  to  the  feelings  of  the  Roman  people  ;  and  it  was 
not  they  who  were  eager  for  revolution,  but  the  Mazzinis,  Gari- 
baldis, and  Gavazzis,  and  the  grasping  power  of  Sardinia,  that 
were  moving  hell  and  earth  to  abolish  the  Papacy,  both  spiritual 
and  civil.  It  gives  me  pleasure  now  that  during  all  that  year 
of  editing  upon  the  Citizen  I  never  spoke  of  those  Italian  agi- 
tators save  with  abhorrence  and  contempt ;  and  if  once,  in  the 
former  part  of  my  Journal  (Jail  Journal),  I  alluded  to  them 
with  something  like  respect,  it  was  in  ignorance  of  their  actual 
doings  during  the  five  years  of  my  imprisonment  at  the  world's 
end. 

However,  the  doctrine  of  the  Citizen,  that  the  Romans  had  a 
right  to  change  the  government  of  Rome,  scandalised  a  great 
many  of  the  Catholic  clergy  of  the  United  States,  and  Arch- 
bishop Hughes  came  out  and  scathed  us  in  the  newspapers. 
I  am  not  patient  of  ecclesiastical  censure  ;  and  replied,  perhaps 
too  bitterly ;  and  more  than  once.  It  was  an  unfortunate 
controversy  for  me,  and  for  the  purposes  and  objects  of  the 
Citizen,  inasmuch  as  most  of  the  readers  of  that  paper,  those 
indeed  to  whom  it  was  mainly  addressed,  were  just  the  flocks 
of  this  very  prelate  and  of  the  rest  of  the  Catholic  clergy.  Inde- 
pendently, however,  of  the  effect  of  the  dispute  upon  the  fortunes 
of  the  Citizen,  I  do  admit,  now,  after  fifteen  years  that  I  would 
if  I  could  erase  from  the  page  and  from  all  men's  memory,  about 
three-fourths  of  what  I  then  wrote  and  published  to  the  address 
of  Archbishop  Hughes.  This  I  say  not  by  way  of  atonement 
to  his  memory — for  he  deserved  harsh  usage  and  could  stand  it 
and  repay  it — but  by  way  of  justice  to  myself  only. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  397 

At  Stonington 

It  is  flagrant  summer  weather ;  more  intense  heat  here  in 
New  York  than  I  have  ever  experienced  in  any  other  country, 
even  in  the  Tropics.  In  Tahiti,  in  Cuba,  I  have  never  seen  the 
thermometer  stand  higher  than  87  in  the  shade.  Here  97  is 
common  enough  and  92  Fahrenheit  a  very  usual  summer  heat. 
We  cast  about  for  some  place  at  the  seaside,  and  there  is  no  great 
city  in  the  world  having  so  many  and  so  beautiful  sea-bathing 
retreats  within  easy  reach.  Generally,  however,  these  places 
are  occupied  by  vast  hotels  or  public  boarding-houses,  where 
people  live  in  crowds,  as  New  Yorkers  delight  to  live,  and  where 
the  main  occupation  of  the  women  is  dressing,  that  of  the  men 
lounging,  smoking  with  their  heels  on  a  balcony  rail,  with 
occasionally  a  boating  or  fishing  party.  There  are  nowhere 
hereabouts  quiet  cottages  by  the  seaside  which  you  can  rent 
for  the  season,  where  you  can  live  as  at  home  and  wear  what 
you  please — such  as  I  remember  at  Warrenpoint  and  Newcastle 
and  Bundoran.  At  last  we  selected  a  place  in  Connecticut 
called  Stonington  ;  whereto  Mr.  Dillon's  family  and  our  own 
betook  ourselves,  taking  passage  in  an  enormous  steam-vessel, 
quite  as  huge  as  any  line-of-battle  ship,  two  or  three  of  which 
rush  every  evening  through  the  "  East  River  "  and  Long  Island 
Sound,  bound  to  various  points  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode 
Island,  making  connection  with  lines  of  railway  to  Boston. 

This  Stonington  is  situated  on  a  narrow  strip  of  land  running 
out  southwards  into  the  sea ;  there  are  several  quiet  streets  of 
private  houses  all  built  of  wood  and  painted  white  ;  the  streets 
shaded  as  usual  by  trees.  It  is  a  place  of  intensely  puritanical 
aspect,  and  anj^hing  more  dreary  than  a  Simday  in  Stonington 
(Sabbath  they  call  it)  cannot  well  be  conceived.  People  go  with 
a  grim  and  mortified  aspect  to  their  various  conventicles ; 
march  back  again  to  their  houses,  where  every  window-blind  is 
strictly  closed.  No  creature  is  on  the  streets  ;  nobody  looks  out 
of  any  window.  They  never  issue  out  for  a  ramble  or  for  a  drive 
on  Sunday  evening ;  and  I  believe  that  if  a  piano  were  heard 
in  one  of  those  wooden  houses  rattling  out "  The  Wind  that  Shakes 
the  Barley,"  or  if  there  were  a  sound  of  dancing  feet,  the  in- 
habitants would  be  in  as  great  commotion  as  they  were  when 


398  JAIL  JOURNAL 

a  British  fleet  opened  its  broadsides.  For  Stonington  has  its 
place  in  history ;  and  its  boast  is  that  a  British  squadron  did 
actually  bombard  it  in  August,  1814,  and  that  although  several 
houses  were  knocked  to  pieces  nobody  was  hurt.  They  had 
also  traditions  here  that  some  stout-hearted  Stonington  people 
did  respond  to  the  English  broadsides  by  certain  shots  from  two 
or  three  old  cannon  they  had,  and,  even,  that  one  shot  did  strike 
an  English  ship  in  the  hull.  At  all  events,  the  English  having 
done  all  the  mischief  they  could,  made  no  landing  but  hauled 
off.  It  was  only  one  of  many  similar  brutaUties  perpetrated 
upon  unprotected  coast  towns  and  villages  by  the  British  in  that 
last  war ;  and  the  families  along  Chesapeake  Bay  will  long  re- 
member, and  hand  down  in  tradition,  the  black  story  of  men- 
of-war's  boats,  crowded  with  armed  ruffians  who  came  up  and 
robbed  their  storehouses  and  winecellars,  carried  off  chickens, 
stole  their  negroes,  insulted  the  women,  burned  the  houses, 
and  sailed  away.  No  people  on  earth  is  so  perfect  in  that 
species  of  warfare  as  our  Anglo-Saxon  brethren  ;  a  fact  which 
the  desolated  Finland  villages,  harried  in  the  late  Russian  war, 
can  attest.  Stonington,  however,  on  the  occasion  in  question, 
made  so  stout  a  show  of  resistance  that  the  British  hearts  of 
oak  thought  it  would  not  pay  to  come  ashore. 

"  Anglo-^axonism  "  IN  New  York 

New  York,  1854. — The  English  and  French  armies  having, 
after  long  delay,  at  last  ventured  on  an  invasion  of  the 
Crimea,  and  beaten  an  opposing  force  on  the  Alma  River — 
what  is  this  we  read  in  vast  capital  letters  on  all  street 
comers  ? — "  Fall  of  Sebastopol !  "  Irresistible  English  and 
French  armies  have  marched  straight  upon  the  city  and 
its  fortifications ;  the  city  is  taken ;  all  the  great  line  of 
fortifications,  together  with  the  Russian  fleet,  destroyed ; 
Russian  army  annihilated.  Prince  Menschikoff  a  prisoner, 
and  the  war  ended  in  a  rapture  of  triumph !  For  all 
this,  to  be  sure,  there  was  not  even  the  shghtest  shadow  of 
foundation.  It  was,  on  the  very  face  of  it,  a  wild  canard,  in- 
tended to  operate  upon  the  money  market ;  yet  the  startling 
story  nmg  over  the  whole  earth.  The  American  newspapers, 
finding  that  the  English  ones  pretended  to  believe  in  that  grand 


JAIL  JOURNAL  399 

event,  did  themselves  most  implicitly  believe  it,  commented  on 
it  with  much  Anglo-Saxon  complacency,  and  caused  stocks  to 
rise  and  fall  in  Wall  Street.  Nothing  has  ever  caused  in  London 
such  a  paroxysm  of  idiotic  joy.  Great  meeting  at  once,  with 
Lord  Mayor  to  preside.  "  First  of  all,"  cried  his  lordship,  "  I 
call  for  three  cheers  for  the  Queen !  "  "  The  Czar  Nicholas," 
said  the  London  Times,  "  has  fallen  from  his  high  estate,  his 
armies  are  scattered  to  the  wind,  his  ships  seized  or  sunk,  his 
forts  and  arsenals  blown  about  his  ears !  "  Here  is  the  rapture 
of  the  London  Daily  News — reproduced  here  in  every 
newspaper  : — 

"  Let  the  reader  fancy  to  himself  the  roaring  and  reverberation 
of  all  this  artillery  in  a  space  of  three  miles  long.  Let  him  fancy 
in  addition,  the  thundering  broadsides  from  the  allied  fleets  off 
the  mouth  of  the  harbour.  Let  him  add  to  this  the  noise  and 
clamour  of  the  assault  and  defence  of  the  North  Fort  on  the 
heights  immediately  behind  the  Double  Battery  ;  and,  after  its 
fall,  of  the  artillery,  Minie  rifles,  and  platoon  firing  of  the  allied 
troops.  To  all  this  let  him  again  add  the  noise  of  explosions, 
now  of  a  fort,  now  of  a  man-of-war.  Let  him  conceive  the 
hollow  of  the  harbour  thus  filled  with  smoke  and  flame,  re- 
sounding with  the  deep  roar  of  artillery  and  the  pattering  of 
firearms,  the  sohd  earth  shaking  with  the  reverberation  of  the 
rent  and  tormented  atmosphere.  And,  last  of  all,  let  him 
imagine,  in  the  midst  of  this  artificial  volcanic  eruption,  masses 
of  human  beings  interchanging  sabre  blows  and  bayonet  thrusts, 
closing  in  death-grapples,  panting  with  exhaustion,  fevered 
with  quenchless  thirst,  writhing  in  mortal  agony.  Of  the 
Russians,  eighteen  thousand  are  said  to  have  been  killed  in 
this  man-made  hell.  How  many  of  the  allies  have  fallen  is 
still  unknown." 

In  fact,  for  a  few  days  New  York  was  very  much  inchned  to 
vote  itself  an  Anglo-Saxon  city,  for  our  worthy  people  here  do 
shift  and  veer  somewhat  in  their  ethnological  affihations,  and 
although  as  a  general  rule,  Anglo-Saxon  enough,  yet  they  become 
more  intensely  British  in  sympathy — feel,  as  it  were,  the  Saxon 
fibres  throbbing  more  strongly  whenever  our  transatlantic 
brethren  have  some  mighty  success.  Of  all  the  newspapers  in 
the  United  States,  the  Citizen  was  the  only  one  which  instantly 


400  JAIL  JOURNAL 

pointed  out  the  necessary  and  obvious  falsehood  of  this  mon- 
strous canard.  In  truth,  I  do  always  take  a  satiunine  pleasure 
in  ripping  up  any  bag  of  gas  and  letting  its  contents  escape  into 
the  atmosphere.  But  nobody  minded  me  for  three  or  four 
days ;  everyone  was  dancing  an  insane  war-dance.  However, 
four  days  after  the  grand  news  came  another  steamer — the 
sublime  drama  of  the  "  Fall  of  Sebastopol  "  had  vanished.  Not 
only  had  Sebastopol  not  fallen,  but  it  was  manifest  that  Prince 
Menschikoff  did  not  apprehend  anything  of  the  sort.  The  city 
holds  a  Russian  army,  another  Russian  army  is  outside,  and  it 
is  clear  that  the  English  and  French  allies  must  prepare  to 
winter  in  the  mud.  Still  there  is  not  the  least  sign  of  this 
gracious  war  spreading  over  Europe,  and  I  lose  all  interest  in 
a  petty  little  siege  in  Crim  Tartary. 

New  York  and  the  Irish  Political  Prisoners 

October  25th. — At  last  we  have  certain  news  of  the  release  of 
Mr.  Smith  O'Brien  jind  his  comrades  from  their  imprisonment. 
I  have  received  a  letter  from  John  Martin,  dated  Paris,  October 
3rd.     Here  is  one  extract : — 

"  I  left  Melbourne,  in  company  with  O'Brien,  in  the  steamer 
Norma,  on  the  26th  July.  Contrary  to  the  anticipations  of  both 
O'Brien  and  myself,  the  '  pardon  '  was  not  attended  by  any 
conditions  whatever.  We  had  nothing  to  do,  except  on  the 
appearance  of  the  notice  in  the  Gazette,  go  away  at  oiu:  pleasure. 
No  forms  to  sign,  no  applications  to  make — nothing  whatever 
to  do  in  the  matter.  You  are  probably  aware  that  the 
'  pardons '  themselves  did  not  reach  the  Tasmanian  Government 
until  five  or  six  weeks  after  the  news  of  the  announcement  by 
the  British  Minister  in  the  British  Parliament." 

So  after  Lord  Palmerston's  announcement — ("  It  is  the 
intention  of  her  Majesty's  Government  to  advise  the  Crown  to 
extend  to  Mr.  Smith  O'Brien  an  act  of  clemency,  and  to  allow 
him  to  apply  for  the  means  of  placing  himself  at  liberty  ") — after 
that  announcement,  some  six  weeks  after,  her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment changed  its  mind,  and  let  Mr.  O'Brien  and  his  friends  go 
free  without  applying  for  the  means,  etc. 

It  seems,  also,  that  this  was  contrary  to  the  anticipations 
of    the   exiles    themselves,    who    were    acquainted    with    the 


V 


JAIL  JOURNAL  401 

usual  routine,  and  were,  of  course,  resolved  never  to  coniply 
with  it. 

The  whole  truth  of  this  matter  is  that  Lord  Palmerston,  an 
excessively  cunning  old  intriguer,  had  intended  to  make  our 
friends  an  illusory  offer  of  pardon,  and,  on  their  refusing  it  (with 
the  conditions)  had  intended  to  turn  his  candid  countenance  to 
all  mankind  and  say — "  Behold  !  these  headstrong  convicts  will 
not  accept  their  gracious  Sovereign's  pardon !  "  But  his  lord- 
ship became  convinced  that  his  predetermined  trick  was  watched, 
had  been  already  exposed,  and  would  be  mercilessly  exhibited 
to  the  world.  Besides,  he  knew  that  P.  J.  Smyth  was  then  in 
Van  Diemen's  Land,  and  would  be  sure  to  rescue  O'Brien  at 
last,  if  any  further  paltering  took  place  about  his  release.  So, 
at  length,  after  six  weeks'  delay,  ministers  made  up  their  mind 
to  put  on  the  false  pretence  of  doing  a  generous  action — for  wjj^ich 
our  friends  take  care  to  say  they  do  not  thank  Her  Majesty  or 
her  advisers. 

December  14th. — New  York,  feeling  less  Anglo-Saxon  than  it 
was  a  few  weeks  ago,  is  bestirring  itself  to  do  honour  to  Smith 
O'Brien  and  his  associates,  Messrs.  Martin  and  O'Doherty,  on  the 
occasion  of  their  release.  A  requisition  has  been  extensively 
signed  by  prominent  citizens,  headed  by  the  names  of  Jacob  A. 
Westervelt,  Mayor ;  A.  C.  Kingsland,  Ex-Mayor ;  Fernando 
Wood,  Mayor  elect ;  and  exhibiting  such  other  names  as  Robert 
Emmet,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Charles  O'Connor,  Horace 
Greeley,  WiUiam  Cullen  Bryant,  and  others  well  known,  caUing 
a  great  meeting  at  the  Tabernacle  to  adopt  and  transmit  an 
address  to  Mr.  O'Brien,  "  expressive  of  admiration  for  bis  lofty 
integrity,"  and  all  the  rest  of  it.  On  this  occasion  I  am  in  high 
good-humour — forbear  even  to  intimate  that  all  the  parade  is 
only  to  make  capital  for  certain  politicians  with  the  multitude 
of  Irish  voters.  What  if  it  be  so  ?  Is  it  not  gratif5dng  that  the 
said  poUticians  know  they  can  make  their  capital  with  our 
people  only  by  sympathising  with  rebels  and  affronting  the 
English  Government  ?  Accordingly  I  accept  in  gracious-wise 
this  New  York  demonstration,  and  treat  of  it  in  the  Citizen 
thus : — 

"It  is  no  mere  Irish  movement,  this  spontaneous  impulse  of 
the   people  to  do  honour  to  a  brave  and  good  man.      flie 

2^ 


402  JAIL  JOURNAL 

requisition  proceeded  from  the  Chief  Magistrate,  and  from  some 
of  the  most  notable  citizens  of  New  York,  and  arose  from  the  same 
honest  impulse  that  made  even  the  colonists  of  Van  Diemen's 
Land  and  the  citizens  of  Melbourne  (all  British  subjects  theji- 
selves,  and  more  or  less  '  loyal ')  rise  as  one  man  to  congratulate 
him  and  his  worthy  associates  on  their  release,  and  to  give 
expression  to  that  spontaneous  instinctive  admiration  for 
heroic  constancy  in  adversity  and  a  stainless  character,  which 
is  bounded  by  no  latitude  nor  longitude,  religion  or  nationality. 

"  Neither  is  it  a  movement  of  American  politicians  to  buy 
'  Irish  votes.'  The  elections  are  over.  O'Brien  is  not  to  come 
to  America ;  is  no  way  likely  to  be  of  the  slightest  service  to 
any  one  of  the  struggling  parties.  Even  the  very  Know-Nothings 
are  in  good  humour  ;  for  this  is  a  question  of  pa5dng  honour  to 
a  ^reigner  who  has  the  good  taste  to  know  his  own  place — 
namely,  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

"  Over  this  meeting  and  address  there  rests  no  shadow  of  a 
cloud.  No  selfish  or  partisan  design  can  be  supposed  to  pollute 
it.  The  men  of  a  great  American  city,  who  have  eyes  to  see  and 
hearts  to  appreciate  what  is  good  and  noble,  stretch  forth  their 
hands  in  hearty  greeting  across  the  sea,  to  welcome  to  freedom 
and  home  the  illustrious  though  imfortimate  champion  of  an 
oppressed  land.  Six  years  he  has  been  counted  among  the 
felonious  off-scourings  of  British  gaols  ;  but  the  citizens  of  New 
York  (who  do  not  happen  to  be  a  packed  jury  of  the  Queen  of 
England)  assure  him  of  their  esteem  and  admiration,  and  with 
the  same  breath  virtually  fling  back  the  foul  name  of  felon  and 
traitor  in  the  teeth  of  his  enemies. 

"  There  is  an  additional  significance  in  the  proceeding,  inas- 
much as  the  liberation  of  O'Brien  was  really  decreed  and  accom- 
pUshed  in  New  York,  not  in  London.  It  was  because  they  knew 
the  indefatigable  agent  of  the  New  York  Irish  Directory  had 
just  returned  to  his  mission  in  Australia,  bound  to  rescue  O'Brien 
out  of  the  hands  of  his  gaolers  by  force — ^that  it  occurred  to  the 
prudent  British  Government  to  make  a  virtue  of  necessity  and 
release  him.  The  very  next  mail  steamer  after  Mr.  Smyth 
sailed  carried  out  to  Australia  the  preliminary  announcement  of 
their  insolent  '  pardon.' 

•'  p'Bripn  and  Jiis  a^^ciates,  however,  npt  only  djd  not  pur- 


JAIL  JOURNAL  403 

chase  their  freedom  by  the  smallest  semblance  of  submission,  or 
hint  of  contrition,  but  took  the  very  earliest  public  occasion, 
even  while  still  in  the  power  of  British  officials,  to  repel  the 
treacherous  compliment  offered  him  by  the  Government  at  the 
expense  of  his  friends  and  late  associates — and  further  to  inform 
them  distinctly  that  he  did  not  thank  them  for  '  pardon.' 

"  Whatever  may  become  of  the  cause  of  Ireland,  here  at 
least  is  one  other  reversal  of  a  fictitious  jury's  fraudulent  verdict 
■ — one  other  emphatic  contradiction  by  the  voice  of  freemen  to 
the  loud  British  falsehood  that  has  dared  to  call  an  Irish  Rebel 
Felon." 

The  old  "  Tabernacle  "  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity,  with 
a  vast  and  enthusiastic  assemblage,  consisting  mainly  of  Irish- 
men, but  with  a  large  admixture  of  native  citizens.  A  platform 
thronged  with  well-known  faces,  on  whose  successive  appearance 
deafening  cheers  arise.  The  proceedings  were  already  half  over 
when  the  fine  face  and  grey  hair  of  Robert  Emmet  were  first 
recognised  in  this  group.  He  was  unwell,  and  had  dragged 
himself  from  his  bed  to  participate  in  the  tribute  of  respect  to 
his  noble  countryman.  When  this  fine  old  man,  who  had  shared 
as  a  boy,  the  captivity  of  his  father,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  at 
Fort  George,  was  recognised  by  the  multitude,  one  tempestuous 
peal  of  applause  seemed  to  rend  the  walls  of  the  building. 

When  the  applause  had  subsided,  Mr.  Robert  Emmet  moved 
the  adoption  of  the  Address.    He  said  :• — 

"  I  regret  that  I  am  not  in  a  condition  to  respond  to  the  en- 
thusiasm with  which  you  have  received  me  this  evening.  I 
feared  very  much,  until  within  the  last  half  hour,  that  it  would 
not  have  been  in  my  power  to  have  presented  myself  before 
you ;  and  let  me  assure  you  that  it  required  some  effort  to  do 
it — an  effort,  however,  which  the  strong  desire  that  I  had  to 
be  present  on  an  occasion  when  the  object  was  to  express  the 
feelings  entertained  by  the  Irish  population  of  the  city  to  their 
renowned  compatriot,  WiUiam  Smith  O'Brien,  rendered  impera- 
tive. I  should  never  have  forgiven  myself,  fellow-citizens,  if 
I  had  not  made  that  effort,  because  I  feel  that  my  past  life,  and 
my  past  history,  and  the  traditions  of  my  family  (tremendous 
cheering,  prolonged  for  several  minutes)  are  intimately  connected 
with  aspirations  for  Irish  freedom  (renewed  cheers).    I  say. 


"5  «»«(n.  y<:r 


404  JAIL  JOURNAL 

gentlemen,  that  those  feelings  and  that  conscientiousness  com- 
pelled me  to  make  an  effort  to  be  here.  I  felt  it  was  my  duty 
to  be  present  upon  any  occasion  when  the  name  of  Smith  O'Brien 
was  to  be  received  with  honour  by  his  countrymen,  and  when  a 
proper  tribute  was  to  be  paid  to  him  for  the  sufferings  which 
he  has  endured  in  the  cause  of  our  common  country  (cheers). 
I  well  recollect,  fellow-citizens,  the  last  occasion  upon  which  we 
met  in  this  very  building,  and  it  was  not  the  only  occasion 
when  we  met  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  helping  hand  to  that 
cause  in  which  he  has  suffered  (hear,  hear,  and  cheers).  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  fate  of  that  cause — ^however  disastrous 
its  results  may  have  been — we  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  we  did  our  duty  at  the  time  (applause).  And  I  thank  God, 
fellow-citizens,  that  I  have  lived  long  enough  to  see  those  noble 
martyrs  to  liberty  who  have  suffered  from  the  fatal  result  of  that 
cause  in  Ireland,  to  see  them  disenthralled,  and  the  majority  of 
them  amongst  us  at  this  moment  (cheers).  I  trust,  fellow- 
citizens,  without  knowing  what  Smith  O'Brien's  views  may  be 
with  regard  to  his  future  career — ^what  part  of  the  world  he 
intends  to  cast  his  lot  in — I  trust  one  of  the  effects  of  this  meeting, 
and  the  address  that  you  have  heard  this  evening,  will  be  to 
induce  him,  at  all  events,  to  pay  us  a  visit  here  (loud  cheers). 
I  trust  before  I  die  to  be  able  to  take  that  honest  man  and  patriot 
by  the  hand." 

I  will  not  inflict  on  my  readers  the  address  itself,  which  was 
extremely  cordial.  It  ended  with  these  two  paragraphs,  in- 
tended to  include  in  the  congratulations  of  the  city  those  worthy 
comrades  of  O'Brien  who  were  released  along  with  him  : — 

"  You  will  receive,  sir,  these  assurances  of  respect  and  ad- 
miration with  feelings  no  less  pleasurable  than  those  with  which 
they  have  been  offered.  At  the  same  time,  we  are  sensible  that 
the  satisfaction  they  are  likely  to  afford  would  be  lessened  were 
the  companions  who  shared  your  captivity,  and  who,  with  you, 
retrace  their  steps  to  a  happier  fortune,  to  be  forgotten.  It  is 
a  grateful  task  we  entrust  to  you,  when  we  beg  that  in  our  name 
you  will  greet  your  gallant  friends  in  terms  of  the  proudest 
commendation. 

"  Their  efforts,  aspirations,  sacrifices,  in  the  cause  of  Irish 
freedom  are  intimately  known,  and  the  recollection  of  them 


JAIL  JOVMAL  405 

will  not  quickly  perish  in  a  country  which,  itself  the  great  school 
and  model  of  them,  has  been  taught  to  admire  in  others  the 
virtues  which  ennoble  equally  the  martjrs  as  well  as  the  heroes 
of  a  revolution." 

Other  associates  of  Mr.  O'Brien  were  present — Meagher, 
O'Gorman,  Doheny,  Dillon,  and  the  present  writer.  We  were 
there  to  enjoy  the  scene,  not  to  take  part  in  it ;  but  were  all 
called  upon  imperatively  by  the  audience — obliged,  in  short,  to 
come  to  the  front  to  say  a  few  hearty  words. 

On  the  whole,  I  must  admit,  though  hard  to  please,  the  occa- 
sion was  one  of  immingled  gratification.  We  knew  well  how 
these  words  of  cheer,  coming  from  the  grand  free  city  of  New 
York,  would  soothe  the  spirit  of  the  brave  and  impenitent 
rebel. 

Retirement  from  "  The  Citizen  " 

It  was  almost  the  last  public  event  in  this  city  with  which  I 
was  to  have  any  concern  for  some  time.  This  month  of  December 
the  Citizen  is  one  year  old.  In  that  time  I  have  had  much  and 
delightful  intercourse  with  those  old  friends  whom  I  had  known 
intimately  in  Ireland,  and  who  were  afterwards  fain  to  shelter 
under  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  Most  of  them  lived  in  the  city 
itself,  others  were  scattered  far  and  wide  over  the  Union. 
Williams,  once  known  as  "  Shamrock,"  was  Professor  of  Greek 
in  a  Jesuits'  College  at  Mobile,  and  during  this  year  I  did  not 
see  him,  though  we  afterwards  met  in  New  Orleans.  Joseph 
Brenan  was  in  New  Orleans,  labouring  as  a  joumaUst.  He  came 
to  New  York  and  contributed  a  little  to  the  Citizen  ;  but  my  poor 
friend  was  almost  blind,  and  after  some  months  returned  to  the 
South.  Of  all  old  associates  I  had  most  eager  desire  to  see 
once  more  the  face  of  Thomas  Devin  Reilly.  He  was  in  Washing- 
ton, and  within  the  first  three  months  of  my  residence  here  I 
was  several  times  hindered  in  plans  to  go  and  visit  him,  when 
one  day,  early  in  March  of  this  year,  came  news  of  his  sudden 
death.  The  restless,  fiery,  noble  hfe  was  extinguished  in  a 
moment,  without  any  known  disease,  at  thirty  years  of  age. 

Eyesight  fails  me  for  the  hard  work  of  a  newspaper.  I 
determine  to  seek  retirement  somewhere  far  away  in  the  wooded 
Jnountains  of  the  interior ;   give  up  the  Citizen  bodily  to  John 


4o6  JAIL  JOURNAL 

M'Clenahan,  pass  another  Polar  winter  in  Brookljnl,  and  Oil  a 
certain  spring  day,  after  taking  leave  of  my  friends,  find  myself, 
with  all  my  household,  on  board  the  steamship  Nashville,  bound 
for  Charleston,  from  whence  we  were  to  penetrate  the  interior 
as  far  as  the  shady  valleys  of  East  Tennessee.  Here  new  scenes 
and  a  new  kind  of  life  awaits  us. 

Miles  Byrne 

From  this  period  the  Journal  deals  mainly  with  Mitchel's 
life  in  the  United  States,  and  with  his  attitude  towards  its  public 
,  questions.  In  1859,  when  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  France,  in 
the  expectation  of  an  outbreak  of  war  between  France  and  Eng- 
land he  met  the  galljint  Miles  B5niie,  one  of  the  insurgent  leaders 
in  Wexford,  in  1798,  and  then  a  retired  Colonel  of  the  French 
army,  and  a  warm  friendship  subsisted  between  them.  "  In 
the  Rue  Montaigne,  close  by  the  Champs  Elysee,"  Mitchel 
writes  under  date  of  October,  1859,  "  dwells  Miles  Byrne,  one  of 
the  noblest  specimens  of  our  coimtrymen — a  warlike  relic  of 
New  Ross  and  of  Oulart — now  an  officer  en  retraite  of  the  French 
army."  ...  "  Alas  !  "  he  writes  later,  "  since  that  day  I  have 
stood  by  his  bier  in  the  church  of  St.  Philip  de  Roule." 

Marshal  MacMahon 

The  Franco- Austrian  war  of  1859  raised  the  military  reputation 
of  Marshal  MacMahon  to  the  first  degree,  and  gave  him  a  world- 
renown.  Nationalist  Ireland  subscribed  and  presented  him 
with  a  sword  of  honour,  and  Mitchel  participated  in  the 
presentation.  Under  date  of  September,  i860,  he  writes  in 
his  Joximal : — 

Two  delegates  arrive  from  Ireland,  charged  to  present  a  sword 
of  honour  to  Marshal  MacMahon.  They  £ire  Dr.  Sigerson  and 
Mr.  T.  D.  Sullivan  ;  with  them  is  associated  Mr.  Leonard,  and 
they  courteously  invite  me  to  make  one  of  the  party.  The 
Marshal  is  now  at  Chalons,  where  40,000  men  have  been  under 
canvas  all  the  summer ;  and  after  some  negotiations  with  his 
staff  officers,  Sunday  is  appointed  for  our  interview.  Early  in 
the  morning  we  start  by  the  Strasburg  railroad ;  our  party 
being  also  somewhat  sanctified  by  the  presence  of  Father 
Dempsey  from  Dublin.  .  .  .  Bearing  the  case  containing  the 
treasure,  we  swept  up  the  rich  vale  of  Maone,  past  Meaux  and 
the  grey  cathedral  towers  of  Bossuet,  and  into  the  Epemay 
station,  where  everyone  breakfasts,  seeing  that  Epemay  is  a 


JAIL  JOVMaL  40/ 

famotls  centre  of  the  chairipagne  trade.  At  kst  we  arrived  in 
the  old  town  of  Chalons.  .  .  .  About  two  o'clock  we  reach 
certain  low  buildings  which  turn  out  to  be  the  Marshal's  head- 
quarters at  Mourmelon.  .  .  .  Mass  is  over,  and  the  troops  have 
just  been  dismissed  from  their  Sunday  morning's  church  parade. 
A  sentry  brings  out  an  officer ;  the  officer  brings  a  higher 
officer,  an  aide  to  the  Marshal,  who  ushers  us  into  a  small  plaiil 
building,  where  we  find  a  most  modest  reception-room.  Several 
officers  of  rank  are  in  the  room,  who  all  know  the  purport  of 
our  visit,  and  inform  us  the  Marshal  was  expecting  us.  Within 
a  minute  or  two  he  enters,  a  middle-sized  man,  with  grey  hair 
and  moustache.  His  Chief-of-Staff  introduces  us  all  by  name, 
whereupon  Mr.  Leonard,  being  the  best  French  orator  of  our 
party,  takes  up  the  sheathed  sword  with  its  sword-belt  and 
makes  a  short  and  feeling  address.  Then,  holding  it  near  the 
point,  he  presents  its  hilt  to  the  Marshal.  The  honest  resolute 
face  of  the  latter  bore  marks  of  real  emotion  as  he  received  it, 
and  shortly,  in  a  somewhat  husky  voice,  he  expressed  his  sense 
of  the  honour  that  had  been  done  him  by  the  people  of  his  fathers. 
Lastly,  he  said  he  should  ever  cherish  the  gift  of  his  Irish  kinsmen 
and  would  transmit  it  to  his  yoimg  son,  Patrick.  After  this, 
the  blade  was  drawn  and  duly  admired,  and  its  Irish  inscription 
explained.  .  .  .  The  Marshal  conversed  a  Httle  with  each  of 
us  in  turn  ;  and,  then  rising,  sziid  his  brother-in-law,  the  young 
Due  de  Castries,  was  to  place  himself  at  our  disposition  and  show 
us  the  camp  until  dinner  time. 

In  the  evening  about  six  o'clock  we  were  again  at  headquarters, 
when  a  briUiant  company  soon  arrived  on  horseback,  the  Marshal 
galloping  at  their  head.  When  they  dismounted,  the  Marshal 
presented  us  to  General  Sutton  de  Clonard,  General  Dillon  and 
several  other  officers  of  high  rank,  all  covered  with  crosses  and 
orders.  He  told  us  he  had  invited  specially  for  that  day  officers 
of  Irish  extraction.  Then  they  had  all  to  inspect  the  sword, 
and  they  said  many  nice  and  pleasant  things  about  it  until 
dinner  was  announced,  which  took  place  in  a  separate  building, 
beautifully  decorated  with  flowers,  and  having  'in  the  centre  a 
magnfficent  bouquet  sent  specially  by  the  Duchess.  After  dinner 
we  all  repaired  to  the  Marshal's  rooms  and  smoked.  We  were 
very  cordially  invited  to  stay  for  a  review  of  the  troops  the  next 


4o8  JAlt  JOVRNAL 

day,  and  elegant  tents  had  been  provided  for  our  lodging.  General 
Sutton  offered  to  mount  me  for  the  review,  and  pressed  me  to 
stay ;  but  we  all  thought  it  best  to  return  to  Paris.  The  whole 
proceeding,  on  the  part  of  the  Marshal  and  his  officers,  was  ex- 
ceedingly gracious  and  in  very  good  taste. 

Mitchel's  Children 

Mitchel's  family  consisted  of  three  sons  and  three  daughters. 
His  eldest  and  youngest  sons  were  slain  and  his  remaining  son 
was  severely  wounded  in  the  American  Civil  War.  His  eldest 
daughter,  Henrietta,  died  in  the  same  period.  She  had  joined 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  her  fervent  piety  and  sweet  disposition 
caused  her  death  to  be  lamented  as  the  passing  of  a  saint  by  the 
nuns  of  her  community.  His  daughter,  Isabella,  also  became  a 
Catholic  and  married  Dr.  Sloane.  His  daughter,  Minnie,  married 
Colonel  Page  of  the  Confederate  Army.  In  his  Journal  of 
January,  1861,  Mitchel  narrates  the  circumstances  attending  his 
daughter,  Henrietta's,  change  of  religion  : — 

Our  eldest  daughter,  Henrietta,  has  this  winter  become  a 
Catholic.  It  was  no  new  whim  on  her  part,  for  long  since, 
while  we  were  living  at  Washington,  she  had  formed  the  same 
wish  very  strongly,  influenced  partly,  as  I  suppose,  by  her  in- 
timacy with  two  young  ladies  of  a  Maryland  Catholic  family, 
who  were  our  next-door  neighbomrs.  I  knew  also  that  she  was 
greatly  influenced  by  her  very  strong  Irish  feeling,  and  had  a 
kind  of  sentiment  that  one  cannot  be  thoroughly  Irish  without 
being  Catholic.  For  that  time,  however,  we  had  objected  to 
any  decided  and  public  step  being  taken  in  this  direction.  She 
was  too  young  to  have  duly  studied  the  question  and  to  know 
her  own  mind  thoroughly ;  but  I  said  that  if,  after  two  or  three 
years,  she  should  still  entertain  the  same  wish,  I  would  not  utter 
one  word  to  dissuade  her.  Since  our  arrival  in  France  she  had 
been  placed  at  school  in  the  Convent  of  Sacre  Coeur,  and  has 
become  greatly  attached  to  one  of  the  good  ladies  of  that  house, 

Madame  D ,  a  very  excellent  and  accomplished  woman. 

This  condition  of  things  was  not  calculated  to  abate  her  Catholic 
zeal ;  and,  in  short,  the  time  came  when  my  poor  daughter 
declared  that  she  must  be  a  Catholic,  could  not  hve  without 
being  a  Catholic.  I  did  not  think  her  parents  had  the  right, 
and  indeed  they  had  not  the  disposition,  to  cross  her  wish  any 
farther^    So,  on  a  certain  day,  she  and  another  young  lady 


JAIL  JOURNAL  409 

were  to  be  baptised  in  the  chapel  of  the  Convent.  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris,  Cardinal  Moilot,  heard  of  it  and  wrote  to  the 
Reverend  Mother  of  the  House  to  the  effect  that,  as  several 
conversions  of  Protestant  pupils,  which  had  lately  taken  place 
in  the  convents  had  given  rise  to  imputations  of  undue  influence, 
and  conversion  by  surprise,  as  it  were,  and  had  afterwards 
given  umbrage  to  the  relatives,  he  should  require  that,  before 
any  further  step  was  taken,  I  should  be  asked  for  a  written  con- 
sent.   Madame  D showed  me  the  letter,  and  I  instantly 

wrote  the  required  consent.  For  this  acquiescence  I  was  most 
earnestly  blamed  by  some  of  my  connections  in  the  north  of 
Ireland,  who  wrote  to  me  urging  that  I  ought  to  exert  my 
authority  to  stop  such  an  apostacy.  What  would  they  have  me 
do  ?  Shut  up  my  daughter  in  her  room  and  give  her  the  West- 
minster Confession  to  read !  How  should  I  Uke  this  usage 
myself  ?  Here  was  a  girl  of  nineteen,  full  of  intelligence  and 
spirit,  gentle  and  affectionate,  who  had  never  given  her  father 
or  mother  one  moment's  imeasiness  upon  her  account,  deliberately 
declaring  that  she  desired  to  embrace  the  ancient  faith  of  her 
forefathers.  In  short,  I  believe  that  I  acted  aright.  For  the 
short  remainder  of  her  days  she  hved  a  devout  Catholic  ;  and  so 
she  died.    She  lies  buried  in  the  Cemetery  of  Mount  Pamasse. 

MiTCHEL  AND  VICTOR  HUGO 

Under  date  of  February,  1862,  Mitchel  enters  this  comment 
and  estimate  of  Hugo  : — 

This  Victor  Hugo  is  running  crazy,  but  with  a  most  mis- 
chievous craze ;  for  with  all  his  perversity  of  moral  sentiment, 
the  man  has  often  an  eloquence  of  convulsive  and  epileptic 
strength,  and  in  the  whirl  of  his  stark  madness  he  sometimes 
gives  a  ringing  sentence  that  smites  like  a  forge-hammer.  This 
spasmodic  eloquence,  I  suppose,  must  be  the  secret  of  his  power ; 
for  though  he  has  a  vivid  imagination  there  is  nothing 
beautiful  in  it.  His  imagination  revels  in  filth,  ugUness, 
loathsomeness,  physical  and  moral.    Enough  of  Victor  Hugo. 

Mitchel  and  Fenianism 

Mitchel's  sympathies  were  naturally  with  the  object  of 
Fenianism,  but  his  direct  connection  with  the  Fenian  movement 
lasted  for  but  a  short  period.     Writing  in  his  Journal  at  New 


410  JAIL  JOURNAL 

York  in  November,  1865,  he  details  the  circumstances  imder 
which  he  joined  the  Fenian  organisation  : 

Since  I  arrived  in  New  York  I  have  also  been  making  inquiries 
with  regard  to  the  Fenian  organisation.  It  has  become  very 
extensive,  and  the  Ijinguage  of  Andrew  Johnson  to  the  deputation 
of  that  body  respecting  my  release  leads  me  to  think  that  the 
United  States  Government  may  really  contemplate  the  poUcy 
of  permitting,  or  at  least  conniving  at  any  enterprise  the  Irish- 
Americans  may  undertake.  All  through  the  war  they  have 
been  buoyed  up  by  this  hope,  and  have  been  directly  encouraged 
to  entertain  it — that  when  the  South  should  be  effectually 
subdued  they  would  be  let  loose  upon  England.  The  Fenian 
organisation  had  spread  like  wildfire  through  the  army,  and  there 
are  now  many  thousands  of  disbanded  soldiers  who  would 
desire  nothing  in  the  world  so  much  as  the  chance  of  embarking 
on  board  a  few  transport  ships  for  the  shores  of  Ireland.  I  must 
say  that  my  coimtrymen,  with  their  enthusiastic  and  credulous 
nature,  have  had  every  excuse  for  falling  into  this  delusion,  if 
delusion  it  be.  The  bitter  feeling  of  humihation  throughout 
the  land  of  having  been  obliged  by  EngUsh  menaces  to  restore 
Mr.  Mason  and  Mr.  Slidell,  the  ferocious  language  held  against 
England  both  in  Congress  and  in  the  Press  on  account  of  the 
fitting  out  of  Confederate  cruisers  in  British  ports,  and  the 
consequent  widely-spread  destruction  of  American  shipping ; 
all  this  made  it  natural  to  beUeve  that  the  Washington  Govern- 
ment might  be  perfectly  wiUing  to  use  such  a  powerful  and 
zealous  force  as  these  mustered-out  Irish  soldiers,  and  might 
look  on  while  they  worked  their  will.  I  have  anxiously  endea- 
voured to  get  some  idea  of  the  real  strength,  in  men  and  money, 
which  would  be  available  for  such  an  enterprise ;  and  that 
strength  is  undoubtedly  very  great.  Ireland,  too,  is  as  deeply 
disaffected  as  ever ;  and  with  the  certainty  of  being  joined  at 
once  by  large  forces  of  the  peasantry,  I  should  never  hesitate 
to  land  in  Ireland  with  but  five  thousand  of  these  American 
veterans  and  arms  for  thirty  or  forty  thousand  more.  In  short, 
I  became  excited  Uke  the  rest.  I  saw  the  chiefs  of  the  Organisa- 
tion here,  Roberts,  O'Mahony,  etc.,  and  also  a  body  called  the 
"  Senate  "  composed  of  men  from  other  towns,  some  of  whom 
I  had  known  before,  and  who  all  seemed  hopeful  and  resolute. 


JAtL  JOURNAL  411 

There  was  no  sign  of  any  interruption  to  their  designs  on  the 
part  of  the  Government ;  the  preparations  were  well  known, 
and  the  intention  not  concealed  ;  yet  no  proclamation  had  been 
issued  to  stop  these  proceedings. 

For  myself  I  had  been  in  almost  total  ignorance  of  all  this 
till  the  present  moment.  Shut  up  in  the  Southern  States  during 
the  war,  and  afterwards  immured  so  many  months,  still  more 
closely  in  a  fortress  of  State,  I  had  no  opportunity  of  watching 
the  progress  of  the  Organisation ;  and  when  it  broke  upon  me 
here,  it  loomed  large  and  imposing.  In  short,  if  this  gallant 
game  is  to  be  set  afoot  I  must  have  a  share  in  it ;  and  when  I 
was  informed  that  its  leaders  here  wished  me  to  go  to  Paris  as 
its  agent  for  the  safe  transmission  of  funds  to  Ireland — a  thing 
which  had  been  attended  with  much  loss  through  the  inter- 
ceptions of  the  enemy's  Government- — I  accepted  the  mission, 
joined  the  Organisation,  started  for  Richmond  to  see  my  family 
and  make  some  arrangements  for  them  during  my  absence  ;  and 
here  I  am  now  (loth  Nov.)  about  to  start  for  France  on  board 
I'Europe,  one  of  the  French  line  of  steamships  for  Brest  and 
Havre. 

A  brief  residence  in  Paris  sufficed  to  bring  Mitchel  many  a 
disillusionment.  He  found  that  among  the  rank  cind  file,  the 
sincere  and  disinterested  supporters  of  the  Organisation,  there 
was  an  exaggerated  conception  of  the  actual  position  of  the 
movement  both  in  Ireland  and  America.  Soon  the  American 
Organisation,  which  it  was  beUeved  in  Ireland  could  almost 
dictate  terms  to  the  American  Government,  if  necessary,  got 
hopelessly  sundered.  In  Ireland  itself  the  Organisation  was  far 
from  being  in  the  efficient  state  in  which  it  had  been  rep- 
resented to  be.     In  January,  1866,  Mitchel  writes : — 

Letters  from  Father  John  Kenyon  and  others  in  Ireland  upon 
whom  I  relied  kept  me  more  fully  informed  about  matters  in 
that  country  than  I  could  hope  to  be  through  other  channels. 
I  had  also  repeated  letters  from  Mr.  Stephens,  who  had  escaped 
from  Richmond  prison,  and  was  then  living  secretly  in  DubHn ; 
but  I  do  not  think  it  right  to  print  these  letters  or  any  part  of 
them.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  piece  of  duty  which  I  had 
undertaken  had  come  to  be  done  in  a  perfunctory  kind  of  manner, 
though  with  the  utmost  exactitude,  and  as  it  occupied  but  Uttle 
time,  I  appUed  myself  to  other  matters.     A  weekly  letter  to 


412  JAIL  JOURNAL 

the  New  York  News  ;  some  study  in  the  great  libraries,  and 
visits  to  certain  acquaintances  and  friends,  whom  I  had 
known  during  former  residences  in  Paris,  filled  up  my  lonely 
time. 

One  damp  and  dismal  evening  I  entered  my  lodging  about 
eight  o'clock,  intending  to  have  the  wood  fire  lighted  in  my  small 
salon,  and  to  read.  I  opened  the  door  with  my  key,  and  was 
siirprised  to  find  my  rooms  already  flaring  with  light ;  a  fire 
blazing  on  the  hearth,  and  a  candle  burning  on  the  table.  Two 
ladies  and  a  gentleman  rose  on  my  entrance.  I  took  off  my  hat, 
and  bowed  and  stared :  the  dazzle  of  Ught  and  my  own  defect 
of  eyesight  prevented  me  from  recognising  anyone.  At  last 
both  ladies  laughed,  and  then  I  knew — it  was  my  two  sisters 
and  my  brother  William  who  had  come  over  to  visit  me.  Need- 
less to  say  that  this  enlivened  the  dull  hours  and  days  for 
awhile. 

Spies  have  been  hovering  round  me  here  ;  and  some  of  the 
men  who  come  over  to  me  from  Ireland  say  they  think  they  have 
even  recognised  Irish  detectives  near  the  gateway  of  this  house. 
It  is  highly  probable,  and  to  me  altogether  indifferent,  but  for 
the  consideration  that  many  of  my  messengers  to  Ireland  may 
be  dogged,  followed  to  England,  and  there  arrested  with  the 
money  of  the  Irish  Republic  on  their  persons.  This  makes  a 
good  deal  of  caution  needful  in  receiving  and  sending  away  the 
messengers. 

March,  1866. — At  last  the  evident  attention  of  spies  became 
a  little  provoking  to  me. 

His  prompt  and  summary  disposal  of  those  "  spies  of  Lord 
Cowley,  the  English  ambassador,"  and  the  assurance  given  him 
by  M.  Pi^tri,  private  secretary  to  the  Emperor,  and  Prifet  of 
Police,  that  he  would  be  relieved  of  their  attentions,  is  told 
in  his  Journal — after  which,  in  April  of  the  same  year,  he  writes  : 

If  some  unexpected  event  does  not  detain  me  I  might  as  well 
return  home  soon.  It  is  quite  out  of  the  question  to  open  any 
kind  of  negotiation  with  the  Emperor  or  his  Ministers.  While 
France  is  at  peace  with  England,  they  would  not  even  hsten ; 
and  the  attempt  might  even  embarrass  my  movements  in  this 
country,  which  are  now  quite  free.  Indeed  the  Private  Secretary 
of  the  Emperor,  M.  Pietri,  who  is  also  Prdfet  of  Police,  told  me 


JAIL  JOURNAL  413 

the  Government  was  disposed  to  be  very  friendly  towards  me, 
and  even  appreciated  my  reserve,  in  so  cautiously  abstaining 
from  any  effort  which  might  lead  to  questions  and  explanations 
between  the  two  Governments.  This  is  all  very  well,  but  it 
leaves  me  in  a  position  of  utter  nuUity.  Our  worthy  friends  in 
New  York  (who  thought  the  American  Government  were  going 
to  let  them  become  belligerents,  with  the  United  States  for  a 
base  of  operations  against  England)  have  evidently  supposed 
that  I  might  arrange  matters  with  the  Emperor  of  the  French  so 
as  to  occupy  France  as  a  revolutionary  workshop  in  the  cause 
of  Ireland  ;  and  on  the  17th  of  February  last  I  actually  received 
by  express  from  New  York  a  large  package  which  I  found  to 
consist  of  "  Bonds  of  the  Irish  RepubHc  "  and  a  letter  along  with 
them  from  "  Headquarters,"  requesting  me  to  "  have  them  sold 
m  France." 

Later,  disheartened  by  dissensions  in  the  United  States,  and 
convinced  that  nothing  in  the  way  of  armed  revolt  in  Ireland 
could  succeed  while  England  was  at  peace  with  the  Great  Powers, 
Mitchel  determined  to  sever  his  connection  with  Fenianism,  of 
which  he  wrote,  June,  1866  : — 

In  short,  the  thing  is  at  an  end  for  all  good  purposes,  and  an 
Irish  cause  must  embody  itself  in  other  and  stronger  forms. 
That  cause  can  never  die  ;  but  too  plainly  it  has  been  damaged, 
both  in  force  and  reputation,  by  the  senseless  bursting  up  of 
the  Organisation  in  the  United  States.  And,  perhaps,  it  could 
only  burst  up  and  go  to  pieces.  There  has  been  no  opportunity 
to  do  anything  against  our  enemy — while  she  is  at  peace  with  the 
world.  A  wave,  when  it  comes  against  the  cliff,  can  but  break 
into  foam  and  froth.  To  end  the  record  of  my  connection  with 
"  Fenianism,"  I  may  mention  that  on  the  22nd  of  Jime  I  wrote 
to  Stephens,  then  at  the  head  of  the  fragmentary  Organisation  in 
New  York,  informing  him  that  I  would  no  longer  take  charge 
of  funds  intended  for  Ireland ;  that  if  any  drafts  or  bills  had 
been  already  sent  to  me,  and  were  then  on  their  way  at  the 
time  of  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  I  should  take  care  of  such  funds, 
as  usual :  but  nothing  more — suggesting  at  the  same  time  that 
as  Mr.  E.  O'Leary  was  then  in  Paris,  the  brother  of  John 
O'Leary,  he  might  be  charged  with  the  money  business  fQr  the 
future, 


414  JAIL  JOURNAL 

MiTCHEL  AT  THE  IrISH  COLLEGE 

In  September,  1866,  Mitchel's  two  closest  friends,  John 
Martin  and  Father  Kenyon,  P.P.,  of  Templederry,  in  Tipperary, 
visited  him  in  Paris,  and  during  Father  Kenyon' s  stay,  Mitchel 
visited  the  Irish  College  in  Paris  with  him,  for  the  first  time. 
In  the  Journal  he  thus  describes  the  visit : 

John  Martin  and  Father  Kenyon  have  come  to  Paris  and 
have  taken  up  their  abode  in  the  same  house  where  I  reside.  .  . 
The  worthy  priest  of  Templederry  is  now  very  frail,  and  has  had 
several  narrow  escapes  for  his  life  lately ;  but  is  as  gay  and 
jovial  and  witty  as  ever.  Over  these  pleasant  days  in  Paris 
impends  a  kind  of  shadow.  We  three,  old  friends,  when  we 
part  this  time,  will  probably  never  meet  again,  all  together  ;* 
and  this  unspoken  thought  saddens  a  little  our  gayest  moments. 
A  curious  incident  befel  one  day,  which  I  must  mention,  to  my 
own  credit  and  glorification.  Father  John  and  I  were  on  our 
way  homeward,  and  had  arrived  in  the  open  place  of  the  Pantheon, 
when  he  said  to  me,  "  I  am  going  to  call  on  Dr.  Lynch,  President 
of  the  Irish  College — come  with  me."  I  tried  to  excuse  myself, 
said  I  had  never  been  in  the  Irish  College,  and  rather  thought 
Dr.  Lynch  considered  me  a  dangerous  and  ultra-revolutionary 
character — that,  in  fact,  I  had  better  not  put  the  President's 
politeness  to  too  severe  a  test,  by  presenting  myself  before  him. 
Father  John  would  hear  no  excuse.  "  I  am  going,"  said  he, 
"  you  can  come  where  I  do,  perhaps."  "  Yes,  anywhere,  bring 
me  where  you  choose,"  We  turned  into  the  narrow  Irish  Street 
{rue  des  Irlandais),  one  side  of  which  is  occupied  by  the  massive 
building  of  the  Irish  College,  with  the  tricolour  flag  over  its  great 
entrance  gate  ;  for  this  is  a  Government  institution.  The  door 
was  opened  for  us  by  a  fine  Tipperary  man,  nearly  seven  feet 
in  stature,  who  spoke  French  like  an  angel,  and  took  our  card  ; 
we  waiting  in  an  ante-chamber  within  the  gate.  Presently  he 
came  back,  smiling  cordially,  and  said  he  was  desired  to  bring 
us  up  to  Dr.  Lynch's  parlour.  Passing  through  the  port  cochere 
we  had  a  glimpse  of  the  interior  quadrangle,  with  some  shady 
trees  and  patches  of  grass.  The  reverend  President  received  us 
with  the  utmost  courtesy ;    and  after  some  conversation,  he 

♦The  presentiment  was  fulfilled.  Mitchel  and  Father  Kenyon  never 
jnet  again,  the  latter  dying  in  Tipperary  in  1869. 


JAIL  JOURNAL  415 

conducted  us  through  the  great  pubhc  rooms  of  the  institution, 
lecture-room,  library  and  so  forth,  and  exhibited  a  complete  set 
of  the  Nation  newspaper,  bound  in  green  folio  volumes,  the  gift 
of  Colonel  Byrne.  We  took  our  leave,  and  the  President  escorted 
us  down  the  great  staircase  and  into  the  broad  port  cochere, 
where  a  scene  awaited  us,  which  neither  Dr.  Lynch  nor  we  had 
expected.  It  appears  the  tall  Tipperary  man  who  took  our 
cards  had  communicated  the  names  of  the  visitors  ;  it  happened 
to  be  the  hour  for  walking  and  recreation,  when  all  the  inmates 
of  the  college  were  in  the  garden,  and  when  we  descended  the 
last  step  of  the  staircase  and  issued  into  the  broad  passage,  we 
found  all  the  students  and  all  the  professors  ranged  in  two  dense 
lines  on  either  side ;  a  very  fine-looking  crowd  of  young  Irish- 
men, representing  every  county  and  barony  in  the  island,  and 
all  destined  for  the  Priesthood  in  their  own  country.  When  I 
made  my  appearance  by  the  side  of  Dr.  L5nich,  three  cheers, 
loud,  long  and  hearty,  burst  from  the  crowd ;  cheers  such  as 
that  quiet  quarter  has  not  often  heard,  ringing  through  the 
peaceful  region  of  Sainte  Genevieve  and  causing  the  Sergents  de 
ville  in  distant  streets  to  prick  up  their  ears.  As  Father  Kenyon 
and  I  passed  between  these  ranks,  the  cheer  was  renewed  with 
wild  energy.    .    .    . 

As  Father  John  and  I  passed  out  together,  and  along  the 
short  rue  des  Irlandais,  tears  sprang  in  his  eyes,  and  for  a  minute 
he  was  silent ;  then,  "  God  bless  the  boys,"  he  said,  "  God  bless 
the  boys,  anyhow  ;  they're  always  right." 

We  passed  several  days  in  and  around  Paris,  we  three,  but 
with  an  occasional  sad  feeling  that  the  three,  John  Kenyon, 
John  Martin,  and  John  Mitchel,  might  probably  never  meet 
again. 

Napoleon's  Irish  Legion 

In  the  Journal  of  1866  Mitchel  wrote  : — 

I  shall  soon  have  been  a  year  absent  from  home,  and  may 
soon,  perhaps,  return  without  much  danger  of  being  arrested 
by  the  reconstnictionists*  without  any  charge  against  me. 
My  time  here,  notwithstanding  the  short  visit  of  my  friends, 

*  The  reference  is  to  Mitchel's  American  home  and  his  imprisonment 
by  thp  Fe4eral  Qovernmeftt  softer  tjie  defeat  of  tfee  Soutberji  Conletjeracy, 


4i6  JAIL  JOURNAL 

has  on  the  whole  passed  heavily  enough.  Yet  I  had  again  a  few 
pleasant  days  down  upon  the  coast  of  Normandie,  where  another 
old  friend  {erst  Nicaragua)  is  living  with  his  family  he  has  a 
house  at  Bemieras-sur-Mer,  one  of  a  long  line  of  coast  villages  ; 
and  within  two  miles  is  Courseulles,  where  John  Leonard  has  his 
summer  cottage.  I  often  go  to  Mrs.  Byrne,  the  widow  of  my 
admirable  old  friend,  Miles  Byrne,  once  of  Oulart  Hill,  then  of 
the  Irish  Legion,  more  lately  chef  de  battalion  in  the  regular 
army ;  but  for  many  years  before  his  death  in  retirement.  I 
may  mention  how  he  came  to  be  in  the  regular  service  though  a 
foreigner.  When  by  the  Vienna  treaties,  at  the  close  of  the 
great  Napoleonic  wars,  it  was  stipulated  that  France  should 
disband  her  Irish  Legion,  this  was  at  first  done  quite  abruptly 
and  harshly  ;  and  the  officers  of  the  Legion  were  ordered  off  to 
live  imder  a  kind  of  surveillance  in  various  towns  of  France ; 
but  by  degrees  those  of  them  who  happened  to  command  some 
influence,  or  who  were  favourably  known  for  gallant  service, 
received  commissions  in  regiments  of  the  line  at  their  old  grade, 
and  were  undistinguishable  amongst  French  officers,  except  by 
those  who  knew  their  history.  No  Irish  Legion  however,  was 
ever  known  in  France  again,  nor  will  there  be,  unless — in  certzdn 
contingencies.  Mrs.  Byrne  has  just  published  the  fine  old  hero's 
personal  recollections  of  his  Ufe  and  services,  all  written  by  him- 
self in  his  latter  days,  and  deeply  interesting  to  his  countrymen, 
though  told  with  the  simplicity  of  a  soldier.  The  work  is  brought 
out  both  in  French  and  English  ;  and  Mrs.  Byrne  has  been  so 
kind  as  to  present  me  with  a  copy  of  each. 

Mitchel's  Final  Departure  from  France 

Mitchel  left  France  finally  at  the  close  of  1866  and  returned  to 
the  United  States  where  all  but  a  few  weeks  of  the  remainder  of 
his  life  was  spent : 

I  prepare  myself  to  quit  France  once  more  and  return  to 
America — this  is  home — if,  indeed,  a  man  deprived  of  his  own 
country  can  ever  be  said  to  have  a  home  again  in  this  world. 
Your  exile  becomes  restless,  and,  finding  himself  in  one  hemi- 
sphere, thinks  he  ought  to  be  in  the  other.  Three  times  I  have 
crossed  over  to  France,  returned  twice  to  the  United  States, 
an4  am  now  to  return  the  third  time.    After  all,  there  dwells 


John  Mitchel 
(The  last  portrait,  1875) 


JAIL  JOURNAL  4^7 

my  household,  and  one  cannot  live  forever  astride  upon  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  There  is  charming  autumnal  weather  now  in 
France,  which  I  enjoy  in  an  unquiet  kind  of  way.  Profitons  de 
nos  derniers  beaux  jours.  I  go  to  pay  my  last  visits  to  certain 
friends,  French  and  Irish,  to  the  family  of  Bramet  at  Choisy,  to 
the  Bayers  in  Paris,  and  the  ladies  kiss  me  on  both  cheeks,  and 
send  kind  messages  to  my  family ;  to  the  good  Pere  Hogan  at 
the  seminary  of  St.  Sulpice  ;  to  M.  Marie-Martin  and  his  wife, 
at  whose  pleasant  house  I  have  often  visited ;  to  my  friends  the 
Leonards,  now  returned  from  their  sea-bathing,  and  to  the 
worthy  and  admirable  Mr.  Doherty,  aged,  white-haired,  yet 
still  young  in  heart ;  also  to  the  grave  of  my  daughter  Henrietta 
in  the  cemetery  of  Mount  Pamasse,  whither  I  carry  a  lauriertin 
(what  we  call  laurustinas),  in  a  large  pot,  and  place  it  on  the 
tombstone,  and  Adieu  ! 

The  journey  to  Brest  and  voyage  to  New  York  are  described, 
and  the  "  Journal "  concludes  : 

Again,  the  heights  of  Nevisink,  Sandy  Hook,  and  Staten 
Island  with  its  villages  and  villas.  Thirteen  years  ago  I  closed 
another  Journal  on  entering  this  harbour  of  New  York — then 
for  the  first  time — and  here  once  more  I  cast  anchor. 


27 


APPENDICES 


APPENDICES 

I.  The  Famine  Year 

[In  June,  1847,  Mitchel  sat  down  to  write  for  the  Nation  a  review  of 
"  Irish  Guide  Books  "  and  out  of  the  memories  they  awakened  wais  be- 
gotten by  the  existent  horror  of  the  Famine — this,  the  most  beautiful, 
and  terrible  article  that  has  ever  come  from  the  pen  of  an  Irish  journalist. 
In  it  the  John  Mitchel  of  1848  has  his  birth. j 

Again,  the  great  sun  stands  high  at  noon  above  the  greenest 
island  that  hes  within  its  ken  on  all  the  broad  zodiac  road  he 
travels,  and  his  glory,  "  like  God's  own  head,"  will  soon  blaze 
forth  from  the  solstitial  tower.  Once  more,  also — even  in  this 
June  month  of  the  rueful  year — ^the  trees  have  clothed  them- 
selves in  their  wonted  pomp  of  leafy  umbrage,  and  the  warm 
air  is  trembling  with  the  music  of  ten  thousand  singing-birds, 
and  the  great  all-nourishing  earth  has  arrayed  herself  in  robes 
of  glorious  green — the  greener  for  all  the  dead  she  has  laid  to 
rest  within  her  bosom. 

What !  alive  and  so  bold,  O  Earth  I 

Art  thou  not  over  bold  ? 

What  I  leapest  thou  forth  as  of  old. 
In  the  light  of  thy  morning  mirth  ? 

Why,  we  thought  that  the  end  of  the  world  was  at  hand  ; 
we  never  looked  to  see  a  bright,  genial  summer,  a  bright,  rigorous 
winter  again.  To  one  who  has  been  pent  up  for  months,  labouring 
with  brain  and  heart  in  the  panic-stricken  city,  haunted  by  the 
shadow  of  death,  and  has  heard  from  afar  the  low,  wailing 
moan  gi  his  patient,  perishing  brothers  borne  in  upon  every 
gale,  black  visions  of  the  night  might  well  come  swarming ; 
to  hii  dulled  eye  a  pall  might  visibly  spread  itself  over  the 
empyrean,  to  his  weary  ear  the  cope  of  Heaven  might  ring  from 
pole  to  pole  with  a  muffled  peal  of  Doom.  Can  such  swinkt 
labourer  believe  that  days  will  ever  be  wholesome  any  more, 
or  nights  ambrosial  as  they  were  wont  to  be  ? — for  is  not  the 
sun  in  sick  eclipse  and  like  to  die,  and  hangs  there  not  upon 
the  comer  of  the  moon  a  vaporous  drop  profoimd,  shedding 
plague  and  bhght  and  the  blackness  of  darkness  over  all  the 
world  ? 

Not  so,  heavy-laden  labourer  in  the  seed-field  of  time.  Sow 
diligently  what  grain  thou  hast  to  sow,  nothing  doubting ;  for, 

421 


422  JAIL  JOURNAL 

indeed,  there  shall  be  hereafter,  as  of  old,  genial  showers  and 
ripening  suns,  and  harvests  shall  whiten,  and  there  shall  verily 
be  living  men  to  reap  them,  be  it  with  sword  or  sickle.  The 
sun  is  not  yet  turned  into  darkness,  nor  the  moon  into  blood  ; 
neither  is  the  abomination  of  desolation  spoken  of  by  Jeremy  the 
Prophet  yet  altogether  come  to  pass.  Heaven  and  earth  grow 
not  old,  as  thou  and  thy  plans  and  projects  and  speculations 
will  all  most  assuredly  do.  Here  have  you  been  gnawing  your 
heart  all  winter  about  the  "  state  of  the  country,"  about  a 
Railway  Bill,  about  small  rating  districts,  or  about  large  ;  casting 
about  for  means  to  maintain  your  own  paltry  position  ;  or  else, 
perhaps,  devising  schemes,  poor  devil !  for  the  regeneration  of 
your  country,  and  dreaming  that  in  your  own  peculiar  committee, 
clique,  confederacy,  caucus,  council,  conclave,  or  cabal,  lay 
Ireland's  last  and  only  hope  ! — until  you  are  nearly  past  hope 
yourself — until  foul  shadows  are  creeping  over  your  light  of 
life,  and  insanity  is  knocking  at  your  parietal  bone.  Apparently 
you  will  be  driven  to  this  alternative — to  commit  suicide,  or 
else,  with  a  desperate  rush,  to  fly  into  the  country,  leaving  the 
spirits  of  evil  and  the  whole  rout  of  hell  at  the  first  running 
stream. 

We  advise  the  latter  course  ;  all  the  powers  of  nature  enforce 
and  conjure  to  it  ;  every  blushing  evening  woos  thee  westward  ; 
every  blue  morning  sends  its  Favonian  airs  to  search  thee  out 
in  thy  study  and  fan  thy  cheek,  and  tell  thee  over  what  soft, 
whispering  woods  ;  what  bank  of  breathing  field  flowers  ;  what 
heathery  hills  fragrant  with  bog  myrtle  and  all  the  flora  of  the 
moors  :  what  tracks  of  corn  and  waving  meadows  they  have 
wandered  before  they  came  to  mix  with  the  foul  city  atmosphere, 
dim  with  coal  smoke  and  the  breath  of  multitudinous  scoimdrel- 
dom.  On  such  blue  morning,  to  us,  lying  wistfully  dreaming 
with  eyes  wide  open,  rises  many  a  vision  of  scenes  that  we  know 
to  be  at  this  moment  enacting  themselves  in  far-off  lonely  glens 
we  ^Yot  of.  Ah  !  there  is  a  green  nook,  high  up  amidst  the 
foldings  of  certain  granite  mountains,  forty  leagues  off  an(^  more, 
and  there  is  gurgling  through  it,  murmuring  and  flashing  in  the 
sun,  a  Uttle  stream  clear  as  crystal — the  mystic  song  of  it,  the 
gushing  freshness  of  it,  are  even  now  streaming  cool  through 
our  adust  and  too  cineritious  brain  ;  and,  clearly  as  if  present 
in  the  body,  we  seek  the  grey  rock  that  hangs  over  one  of  its 
shallow  pools,  where  the  sun  rays  are  broken  by  the  dancing  water 
into  a  network  of  tremulous  golden  light  upon  the  pure  sand 
that  forms  its  basin  ;  and  close  by,  with  quivering  leaves  and 
slender  stem  of  silver,  waves  a  solitary  birch-tree  ;  and  the 
mountains  stand  solemn  around,  and  by  the  heather-bells  that 
are  breaking  from  their  sheaths  everywhere  under  your  steps, 
you  know  that  soon  a  mantle  of  richest  imperial  purple  will  be 


APPENDICES  423 

spread  over  their  mighty  shoulders  and  envelop  them  to  the 
very  feet.  Lie  down  upon  the  emerald  sward  that  banks  this 
Uttle  pool,  and  gaze  and  hsten.  Through  one  gorge  that  breaks 
the  mountain  pass  to  the  right  hand,  you  see  a  vast  cultivated 
plain,  with  trees  and  fields  and  whitened  houses,  stretching  away 
into  the  purple  distance,  studded  here  and  there  with  lakes 
that  gleam  like  mirrors  of  poUshed  silver.  Look  to  the  left, 
through  another  deep  valley,  and — ^lo  !  the  blue  Western  Sea ! 
And  aloft  over  all,  over  land  and  sea,  over  plain  and  mountain, 
rock  and  river,  go  slowly  floating  the  broad  shadows  of  clouds, 
rising  slowly  from  the  south,  borne  in  the  lap  of  the  soft,  south 
wind,  slowly  chmbing  the  blue  dome  by  the  meridian  line, 
crossing  the  path  of  the  sun,  nimbus  after  nimbus,  cirrus  and 
cumulus,  and  every  other  cloud  after  his  cloud,  each  flinging 
his  mighty  shadow  on  the  passes,  and  then  majestically  melting 
off  northward.  What  battalions  and  broad-winged  hosts  of 
clouds  are  these  !  Here  have  we  lain  but  two  hours,  and  there 
have  been  continually  looming  upward  from  behind  the  wind, 
continually  sailing  downward  beyond  the  northern  horizon, 
such  wondrous  drifts  and  piled  up  mountain  of  vapom:  as  would 
shed  another  Noachian  deluge  and  quench  the  stars  if  the  flood- 
gates were  once  let  loose  and  the  windows  of  heaven  opened, 
yet  this  fragrant,  soft-blowing  southern  gale  bears  them  up 
bravely  on  its  invisible  pinions  and  softly  winnows  them  on 
their  destined  way.  They  have  a  mission  ;  they  are  going  to 
build  themselves  up,  somewhere  over  the  Hebrides,  into  a  huge, 
many-towered  Cumulostratus  ;  and  to-morrow  or  the  day  after 
will  come  down  in  thunder  and  storm  and  hissing  sheets  of 
grey  rain,  sweeping  the  Sound  of  Mull  with  their  trailing  skirt, 
and  making  the  billows  of  Corrievrechan  seethe  and  roar  around 
his  cliffs  and  caves.  Ben  Cruachan,  with  his  head  wrapped  in 
thick  night,  will  send  down  Awe  River  in  raging  spate,  in  a 
tumult  of  tawny  foam,  and  Morven  shall  echo  through  all  his 
groaning  woods. 

But  one  cannot  be  everywhere  at  once.  We  are  not  now 
among  the  Western  Isles,  buffeting  a  summer  storm  in  the 
Sound  of  Mull ;  but  here  in  this  green  nook,  among  our  own 
Irish  granite  mountains,  at  our  feet  the  clear,  poppling  water, 
over  our  head  the  birch  leaves  quivering  in  the  warm  June  air  ; 
and  the  far-off  sea  smooth  and  blue  as  a  burnished  sapphire. 
Let  the  cloud-hosts  go  and  fulfil  their  destiny  ;  and  let  us,  with 
open  eye  and  ear  and  soul,  gaze  and  Usien.  Not  only  are  mysteri- 
ous splendours  aroimd  us,  but  mysterious  song  gushes  forth 
above  us  and  beneath  us.  In  this  Uttle  brook  alone  what 
a  scale  of  notes !  from  where  the  first  faint  tinkle  of  it  is  heard 
far  up  as  it  gushes  from  the  heart  of  the  mountain,  down  through 
countless    cascades   and   pools    and   gurgUng   rapids,    swelling 


424  JAIL  JOURNAL 

and  growing  till  it  passes  our  grassy  couch  and  goes  on  its  mur- 
muring way  singing  to  the  sea  ;  but  it  is  only  one  of  the  instru- 
ments. Hark !  the  eloquent  wind  that  comes  sighing  up  the 
valley  and  whispering  with  the  wavering  fern  !  And  at  intervals 
comes  from  above  or  beneath,  you  know  not  which,  the  sullen 
croak  of  a  solitary  raven,  without  whose  hoarse  bass  you  never 
find  nature's  mountain  symphony  complete ;  and  we  defy  you 
to  say  why  the  obscene  fowl  sits  there  and  croaks  upon  his 
grey  stone  for  half  a  day,  unless  it  is  that  nature  puts  him  in 
requisition  to  make  up  her  orchestra,  as  the  evil  beast  ought  to 
be  proud  to  do.  And  hark  again  !  the  loud  hum  of  innumerable 
insects,  first  begotten  of  the  Sun,  that  flit  among  the  green 
heather  stalks  and  sing  all  their  summer  life  through — and 
then,  if  you  listen  beyond  all  that,  you  hear,  faintly  at  first 
as  the  weird  murmur  in  a  wreathed  shell,  but  swelling  till  it 
almost  overwhelms  all  the  other  sounds,  the  mighty  voice  of 
the  distant  sea.  For  it  is  a  peculiarity  ever  of  this  earth-music 
that  you  can  separate  every  tone  of  it,  untwist  every  strand  of 
its  linked  sweetness,  and  listen  to  that  and  dwell  upon  it  by  itself. 
You  may  shut  your  senses  to  all  save  that  far-off  ocean  murmur 
until  it  fills  your  ear  as  with  the  roar  and  rush  of  ten  thousand 
tempests,  and  you  can  hear  the  strong  billows  charging  against 
every  beaked  promontory  from  pole  to  pole  ;  or  you  may  listen 
to  the  multitudinous  insect  hum  till  it  booms  painfully  upon 
your  ear-drum,  and  you  know  that  here  is  the  mighty  hymn  or 
spiritual  song  of  life,  as  it  surges  ever  upward  from  the  abyss ; 
louder,  louder,  it  booms  into  your  brain — oh,  heaven  !  it  is  the 
ground-tone  of  that  thunder-song  wherein  the  earth  goes  singing 
in  her  orbit  among  the  stars.  Yes,  such  and  so  grand  are  the 
separate  parts  of  this  harmony ;  but  blend  them  all  and  con- 
sider what  a  diapason  !  Cathedral  organs  of  all  stops,  and 
instruments  of  thousand  strings,  and  add  extra  additional  keys 
to  your  pianofortes,  and  sweetest  silver  flutes,  and  the  voices  of 
men  and  of  angels  ;  all  these,  look  you,  all  these,  and  the  prima 
donnas  of  all  sublunary  operas,  and  the  thrills  of  a  hundred 
Swedish  Nightingales,  have  not  the  compass  nor  the  flexibility, 
nor  the  pathos,  nor  the  loudness,  nor  the  sweetness  required  for 
the  execution  of  this  wondrous  symphony  among  the  hills. 

Loud  as  from  numbers  without  number,  sweet, 
As  of  blest  voices  uttering  joy. 

Loud  and  high  as  the  hallelujahs  of  choiring  angels — yet, 
withal,  what  a  trance  of  Silence?  Here  in  this  moimtain  dell, 
all  the  while  we  lie,  breathes  around  such  a  solemn  overpowering 
stillness,  that  the  rustle  of  an  unfolding  heath-bell,  too  near 
breaks  it  offensively ;  and  if  you  linger  near  enough — by  heaven  ! 
you  can  hear  the  throb  of  your  own  pulse.    For,  indeed,  the 


APPENDICES  425 

divine  silence  is  also  a  potent  instrument  of  that  eternal  harmony, 
and  bears  melodious  part. 

"  Such  concord  is  in  heaven  I  "  Yea,  and  on  the  earth,  too, 
if  only  we — we  who  call  ourselves  the  beauty  of  the  world  and 
paragon  of  animals — did  not  mar  it.  Out  of  a  man's  hezirt 
proceedeth  evil  thoughts  ;  out  of  his  mouth  come  revilings  and 
bitterness  and  evil-speaking.  In  us,  and  not  elsewhere,  lies  the 
fatal  note  that  jars  all  the  harmonies  of  the  universe,  and  makes 
them  like  sweet  bells  jangled  out  of  tune.  Who  will  show  us  a 
way  to  escape  from  ourselves  and  from  one  another  ?  Even, 
you,  reader,  whom  we  have  invited  up  into  this  mountain,  we 
begin  to  abhor  you  in  our  soul ;  you  are  transfigured  before  us  ; 
your  eyes  are  become  as  the  eyes  of  an  evil  demon,  and  now  we 
know  that  this  gushing  stream  of  living  water  could  not  in  a 
life-time  wash  away  the  iniquity  from  the  chambers  of  thine 
heart ;  the  arch-chemist  sun  could  not  bum  it  out  of  thee. 
For  know,  reader,  thou  hast  a  devil ;  it  were  better  thy  mother 
had  not  borne  thee  ;  and  almost  we  are  impelled  to  mm-der  thee 
where  thou  liest. 

"  Poor  human  nature  !  Poor  human  nature  !  "  So  men  are 
accustomed  to  cry  out  when  there  is  talk  of  any  meanness  or 
weakness  committed,  especially  by  themselves  ;  and  they  seem 
to  make  no  doubt  that  if  we  could  only  get  rid  of  our  poor  human 
nature  we  should  get  on  much  more  happily.  Yet  human 
nature  is  not  the  worst  element  that  enters  into  our  composition 
— there  is  also  a  large  diabolical  ingredient — also,  if  we  would 
admit  it,  a  vast  mixture  of  the  brute,  especially  the  donkey 
nature — and  then,  also,  on  the  other  hand,  some  irradiation  of 
the  godlike,  and  by  that  only  is  mankind  redeemed. 

For  the  sake  whereof  we  forgive  thee,  comrade,  and  will 
forbear  to  do  thee  a  mischief  upon  the  present  occasion.  But 
note  well  how  the  very  thought  of  all  these  discords  has  silenced, 
or  made  inaudible  to  us,  all  these  choral  songs  of  earth  and  sky. 
We  listen,  but  there  is  silence — mere  common  silence  ;  it  is  no 
use  crying  Encore  \  either  the  performers  are  dumb  or  we  are 
stone  deaf.  Moreover,  as  evening  comes  on,  the  grass  and  heath 
grow  somewhat  damp,  and  one  may  get  cold  in  his  human  nature. 
Rise,  then,  and  we  shall  show  you  the  way  through  the  mountain 
to  seaward,  where  we  shall  come  down  upon  a  little  cluster  of 
seven  or  eight  cabins,  in  one  of  which  cabins,  two  summers  ago, 
we  supped  sumptuously  on  potatoes  and  salt  with  the  decent 
man  who  lives  there,  and  the  black-eyed  woman  of  the  house 
and  five  small  children.  We  had  a  hearty  welcome  though  the 
fare  was  poor ;  and  as  we  toasted  our  potatoes  in  the  greeshaugh, 
our  ears  drank  in  the  honey-sweet  tones  of  the  well-beloved 
Gaelic.  If  it  were  only  to  hear,  though  you  did  not  understand, 
mothers  and  children  talking  together  in  their  own  blessed 


426  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Irish,  you  ought  to  betake  you  to  the  mountains  every  summer. 
The  sound  of  it  is  venerable,  rnajestic,  almost  sacred.  You  hear 
in  it  the  tramp  of  the  clans,  ithe  judgment  of  the  Brehons,  the 
song  of  bards.  There  is  no  name  for  "  modem  enhghtenment  " 
in  Irish,  no  word  corresponding  with  the  "  masses,"  or  with 
"reproductive  labour";  in  short,  the  "nineteenth  century" 
would  not  know  itself,  could  not  express  itself  in  Irish.  For  the 
which,  let  all  men  bless  the  brave  old  tongue,  and  pfay  that  it 
may  never  fall  silent  by  the  hills  and  streams  of  holy  Ireland — 
never  until  long  after  the  great  nineteenth  century  of  centuries, 
with  its  "  enlightenment  "  and  its  "  paupers,"  shall  be  classed 
in  its  true  category  the  darkest  of  all  the  Dark  Ages. 

As  we  come  down  towards  the  roots  of  the  mountain,  you  may 
feel,  loading  the  evening  air,  the  heavy  balm  of  hawthorn 
blossoms ;  here  are  whole  thickets  of  white-mantled  hawthorn, 
every  mystic  tree  (save  us  all  from  fairy  thrall !)  smothered 
with  snow-white  and  showing  like  branching  coral  in  the  South 
Pacific.  And  be  it  remembered  that  never  in  Ireland,  since 
the  last  of  her  chiefs  sailed  away  from  her,  did  that  fairy  tree 
burst  into  such  luxuriant  beauty  and  fragrance  as  this  very  year. 
The  evening,  too,  is  delicious  ;  the  golden  sun  has  deepened 
into  crimson,  over  the  sleeping  sea,  as  we  draw  near  the  hospitable 
cottages  ;  almost  you  might  dream  that  you  beheld  a  vision  of 
the  Connacht  of  the  thirteenth  century  ;   for  that — 

The  clime,  indeed,  is  a  clime  to  praise, 
The  clime  is  Erin's,  the  green  and  bland  ; 

And  this  is  the  time — these  be  the  days — 
Of  Cathal  Mor  of  the  Wine-Red  Hand — 

Cathal  Mor,  in  whose  days  both  land  and  sea  were  fruitful,  and 
the  yeanlings  of  the  flocks  were  doubled,  and  the  horses  champed 
yellow  wheat  in  the  mangers. 

But  why  do  we  not  see  the  smoke  curling  from  those  lowly 
chimneys  ?  And  surely  we  ought  by  this  time  to  scent  the 
well-known  aroma  of  the  turf-fires.  But  what  (may  Heaven  be 
about  us  this  night) — what  reeking  breath  of  hell  is  this  oppressing 
the  air,  heavier  and  more  loathsome  than  the  smell  of  death 
rising  from  the  fresh  carnage  of  a  battlefield.  Oh,  misery !  had 
we  forgotten  that  this  was  xhe  Famine  Year  ?  And  we  are  here 
in  the  midst  of  those  thousand  Golgothas  that  border  our  island 
with  a  ring  oi  death  from  Cork  Harbour  all  round  to  Lough 
Foyle.  There  is  no  need  of  inquiries  here — no  need  of  words ; 
the  history  of  this  little  society  is  plain  before  us.  Yet  we  go 
forward,  though  with  sick  hearts  and  swimming  eyes,  to  examine 
the  Place  of  Skulls  nearer.  There  is  a  horrible  silence ;  grass 
grows  before  the  doors  ;  we  fear  to  look  into  any  door,  though 
they  are  all  open  or  off  the  hinges ;   for  we  fear  to  see  yeUow 


Appendices  427 

chapless  skeletons  grinning  there  ;  but  our  footfalls  rouse  two 
lean  dogs,  that  run  from  us  with  doleful  howling,  and  we  know 
by  the  felon-gleam  in  the  wolfish  eyes  how  they  have  hved  after 
their  masters  died.  We  walk  amidst  the  houses  of  the  dead, 
and  out  at  the  other  side  of  the  cluster,  and  there  is  not  one 
where  we  dare  to  enter.  We  stop  before  the  threshold  of  our 
host  of  two  years  ago,  put  our  head,  with  eyes  shut,  inside  the 
door-jamb,  and  say,  with  shaking  voice,  "  God  save  all  here  !  " 
— No  answer — ghastly  silence,  and  a  mouldy  stench,  as  from  the 
mouth  of  burial-vaults.  Ah  !  they  are  dead  !  they  are  dead  ! 
the  strong  man  and  the  fair,  dark-eyed  woman  and  the  little 
ones,  with  their  liquid  Gaelic  accents  that  melted  into  music  for 
us  two  years  ago  ;  they  shrunk  and  withered  together  until 
their  voices  dwindled  to  a  rueful  gibbering,  and  they  hardly 
knew  one  another's  faces  ;  but.  their  horrid  eyes  scowled  on  each 
other  with  a  cannibal  glare.  We  know  the  whole  story — the 
father  was  on  a  "  pubHc  work,"  and  earned  the  sixth  part  of 
what  would  have  maintained  his  family,  which  was  not  always 
paid  him  ;  but  still  it  kept  them  half  alive  for  three  months, 
and  so  instead  of  dying  in  December  they  died  in  March.  And 
the  agonies  of  those  three  months  who  can  tell  ? — the  poor  wife 
wasting  and  weeping  over  her  stricken  children  ;  the  heavy- 
laden  weary  man,  with  black  night  thickening  around  him — 
thickening  within  him — feeling  his  own  arm  shrink  and  his  step 
totter  with  the  cruel  hunger  that  gnaws  away  his  life,  and 
knowing  too  surely  that  all  this  will  soon  be  over.  And  he 
has  grown  a  rogue,  too,  on  those  public  works  ;  with  roguery 
and  lying  about  him,  roguery  and  lying  above  him,  he  has  begun 
to  say  in  his  heart  that  there  is  no  God  ;  from  a  poor  but  honest 
farmer  he  has  sunk  down  into  a  swindling,  sturdy  beggar  ;  for 
him  there  is  nothing  firm  or  stable  ;  the  pillars  of  the  world  are 
rocking  around  him  ;  "  the  sun  to  him  is  dark  and  silent,  as  the 
moon  when  she  deserts  the  night."  Even  ferocity  or  thirst  for 
vengeance  he  can  never  feel  again  ;  for  the  very  blood  of  him  is 
starved  into  a  thin,  chill  serum,  and  if  you  prick  him  he  will  not 
bleed.  Now  he  can  totter  forth  no  longer,  and  he  stays  at  home 
to  die.  But  his  darling  wife  is  dear  to  him  no  longer ;  alas  ! 
and  alas  !  there  is  a  dull,  stupid  malice  in  their  looks  :  they  forget 
that  they  had  five  children,  all  dead  weeks  ago,  and  flung  coffin- 
less  into  shallow  graves — nay,  in  the  frenzy  of  their  despair 
they  would  rend  one  another  for  the  last  morsel  in  that  house  of 
doom  ;  and  at  last,  in  misty  dreams  of  drivelling  idiocy,  they 
die  utter  strangers. 

Oh  !  Pity  and  Terror !  what  a  tragedy  is  here — deeper, 
darker  than  any  bloody  tragedy  ever  enacted  under  the  sun,  with 
all  its  dripping  daggers  and  sceptred  palls.  Who  will  compare 
the  fate  of  men  burned  at  the  stake,  or  cut  down  in  battle — men 


428  JAtL  JOXJMAL 

with  high  hearts  and  the  pride  of  life  in  their  veins,  and  an  eye 
to  look  up  to  heaven,  or  to  defy  the  slayer  to  his  face — ^who  will 
compare  it  with  this  ? 

*  *  i^  *  * 

No  shelter  here  to-night,  then  :  and  here  we  are  far  on  in  the 
night,  still  gazing  on  the  hideous  ruin.  O  Batho  !  a  man  might 
gaze  and  think  on  such  a  scene,  till  curses  breed  about  his  heart 
of  hearts,  and  the  hysterica  passio  swells  in  his  throat. 

But  we  have  twelve  miles  to  walk  along  the  coast  before  we 
reach  our  inn  ;  so  come  along  with  us  and  we  will  tell  you  as 
we  walk  together  in  the  shadows  of  the  night 

II.  The  Mitchel-Duffy  Controversy 

In  the  appendix  to  his  "  League  of  the  North  and  South  " 
(1896)  Sir  Charles  Gavan  Duffy  republishes  part  of  the  reply 
he  made  to  Mitchel's  strictures  on  him  in  the  "  Jail  Joumd," 
stating  that,  "  I  am  entitled  that  the  facts  of  the  case  which 
his  (Mitchel's)  brilliant  book  will  keep  long  in  memory  should 
be  acciurately  known."  To  Duffy's  "  Letter  to  John  Mitchel " 
written  (1854)  on  the  first  publication  of  the  "  Jail  Journal," 
Mitchel  wrote  a  fierce  reply  which  Duffy  reprinted  in  the  Nation 
and  criticised.  Those  who  are  curious  to  read  in  its  entirety 
the  controversy  between  Mitchel  and  Duffy  will  find  it  set  out 
in  full  in  the  Nation  of  April  and  May,  1854.  Two  commen- 
taries from  Michael  Joseph  Barry  and  Terence  Bellew  MacManus 
appear  in  the  issues  of  Mitchel's  Citizen  in  the  later  months  of 
the  same  year.  The  controversy  had  a  very  unfortunate  effect 
on  the  political  fortunes  of  both  men,  for  Duffy's  charges  against 
Mitchel  were  eagerly  seized  upon  by  the  Yankee  press,  to  which 
Mitchel  was  at  the  time  in  opposition,  to  depreciate  him, 
whilst  Mitchel's  charges  against  Duffy  were  utihsed  by  the  venal 
press  and  party  Duffy  was  then  opposing  in  Ireland  to  discredit 
him.  In  regard  to  the  articles  "  The  Tocsin  of  Ireland,"  and 
"  The  Casus  Belli,"  which  Mitchel  was  led  to  believe  Duffy  had 
written  and  on  his  trial  evaded  responsibility  for,  Mitchel  was 
partly  misled.  The  article  Mitchel  had  in  mind  evidently  was 
"  Jacta  Alea  Est,"  written  by  Miss  Elgee,  afterwards  Lady 
Wilde,  in  the  suppressed  issue  of  the  Nation.  Miss  Elgee  wrote 
both  to  the  coimsel  for  the  defence  and  the  counsel  for  the 
prosecution  avowing  the  authorship,  and  the  counsel  for 
Duffy  raised  technical  objections  to  the  proof  of  the  authorship 
of  the  "  Tocsin  of  Ireland,"  and  to  Duffy's  responsibility  for 
articles  which  appeared  while  he  was  in  prison. 

The  principle  of  calling  evidence  as  to  his  private  character 
on  Duffy's  trial  is  open  to  censure,  but  prior  to  Duffy's  doing  so 
another  Young  Ireland  leader  had  acted  similarly  and  no  adverse 


APPENDICES  429 

criticism  had  been  excited  in  Ireland  by  the  fact.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  Government  and  the  Government  press 
had  systematically  tried  to  blacken  the  character  of  the  Yoimg 
Irelanders  in  order  to  excite  public  feeling  against  them,  that 
for  this  purpose  "^n  infamous  journalist  named  Birch  had  been 
employed  and  paid  several  thousand  pounds  (see  the  actions 
of  Birch  versus  Somerville  and  Birch  versus  the  Freeman's 
Journal,  1851,  in  which  the  vile  transaction  was  acknowledged  by 
the  principals)  and  that  some  of  the  Young  Irelanders  believed 
it,  therefore,  necessary  to  refute  libels  which  had  gained  a  certain 
currency  in  the  country.  As  to  the  memorial,  and  Sir  Lucius 
O'Brien,  Duffy  repudiated  O'Brien's  action  and  denied  that 
any  promise  was  made  or  implied  on  his  behalf.  Duffy  did 
not  disown  the  memorial — a  proceeding  he  justified  by  the 
precedent  of  colleagues  in  the  Leadership  of  Young  Ireland. 
The  justification  cannot  be  sustained.  He  also  emphatically 
denied  the  charge  that  it  was  through  him  O'Brien  was  induced 
to  attempt  an  insurrection  in  Tipperary.  Finally,  justice  to 
Duffy's  memory  demands  it  to  be  made  known  what  was  not 
known  to  Mitchel  at  the  time  he  wrote  his  comments  in  the 
"  Jail  Journal "  that  the  Government  offered  to  release  Duffy 
if  he  would  formally  plead  "  Guilty  "  and  that  Duffy  rejected 
the  offer. 

This  unhappy  controversy  has  echoed  down  even  to  our 
own  time,  and  it  would  be  imjust  for  any  editor  of  the  "  Jail 
Journal "  to  issue  a  new  edition  without  setting  down  the  facts. 
Stung  by  what  Mitchel  wrote,  Duffy  in  his  "  Letter  "  accused 
Mitchel  of  having  broken  his  parole  in  escaping  from  Van  Diemen's 
Land.  This  charge,  the  most  galling  which  could  have  been  made 
against  a  man  of  Mitchel's  high  honour,  and  which  was  repudiated 
at  once  by  all  the  Young  Irdand  leaders,  many  of  whom  on  other 
points  S5niipathised  with  Duffy  rather  than  with  Mitchel,  and 
approved  of  the  policy  of  the  revived  Nation,  sundered  Mitchel 
from  Duffy  for  ever — ^it  rendered  reconciliation  impossible. 

The  origin  of  the  bitter  breach  between  Mitchel  and  Duffy 
was  not,  however,  in  this  controversy,  nor  their  opposing  views 
on  policy  in  1848.  In  the  beginning  of  1848  Duffy  excised 
from  a  report  in  the  Nation  of  one  of  Mitchel's  speeches  at  the 
Confederation  several  passages  which  he  considered  seditious, 
an  action  which  Mitchel  strongly  resented,  and  there  seems  to 
have  arisen  a  belief  in  Mitchel's  mind  that  Duffy  was  secretly 
planning  to  drive  him  out  of  the  Confederation.  Whether  this 
belief  was  true  or  untrue,  it  is  now  impossible  with  certainty  to 
assert.  But  it  is  indisputable  that  the  two  men  in  the  Young 
Ireland  Leadership  in  1848  whom  it  was  most  profitable  to  the 
British  Government  of  that  day  to  sow  animosity  between 
were  John  Mitchel  and  Gavan  Duffy.    To  it,  the  one  was  the 


430  JAIL  JOURNAL 

most  dangerous  man  of  action,  the  other  the  most  astute 
opponent.  Apart  from  honest  partisans,  there  were  some  few 
in  the  groups  surrounding  the  two  patriots  whose  honesty  may 
be  reasonably  suspected,  and  that  one  at  least  of  these  men 
fanned  misunderstanding  between  Mitchel  and  Duffy  is  fairly 
certain. 

Frederick  Lucas,  the  one  Englishman  in  the  histor\'  of  Ireland 
in  the  nineteenth  century  who  honestly  and  completely  identified 
himself  with  the  cause  of  Ireland- — a  man  of  cool  judgment  and 
penetrating  insight  into  character,  and  who  was  the  personal 
friend  of  both  Mitchel  and  Duffy,  has  left  on  record  his  judgment 
of  both.  Mitchel  he  declared  to  be  the  bravest  man  he  ever 
knew — supremely  unselfish,  sincere  and  modest.  Duffy  he 
estimates,  next  to  Mitchel,  the  ablest  man  in  the  movement,  of 
a  character  not  so  strong  in  action,  but  courageous,  steadfast, 
imselfish,  and  sincere.  His  estimate  is  a  true  one.  To  Gavan 
Duffy,  Ireland  not  only  owes  the  foimdation  of  the  Nation,  but 
the  revival  of  some  spark  of  national  life  in  the  years  immediately 
following  the  Famine  and  the  destruction  of  Young  Ireland. 
To  Mitchel  modem  Ireland  owes  an  inspiration  without  which 
her  farmers  might  still  be  serfs  and  her  nationhood  bartered  for 
West-Britonism.  His  indomitable  spirit  and  haughty  man- 
hood raised  again  out  of  carcasses  and  ashes  a  defiant  Irish 
Nation.  No  country  has  a  nobler  and  more  gallcint  figure  in  its 
pantheon  than  John  Mitchel ;  Ireland  has  had  few  men  who 
served  her  more  honestly  than  Duffy.  Mitchel  will  always  be 
first  in  the  love  of  his  countrymen,  but  the  common  name  of 
patriot  is  the  meed  of  both  men. 

III.  The  Cape  and  Mitchel 

A  deputation  of  the  residents  of  Capetown  waited  on  their 
Government  on  behalf  of  the  people  of  the  Cape  during  the 
quarantine  of  the  Neptune,  requesting  that  Mitchel  be  permitted 
to  land  there  as  a  free  settler.  The  Government  declined — 
in  this  matter  of  course  it  was  not  free  to  act.  Mitchel  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  aware  of  the  request  of  the  Cape  people  for 
his  release  and  residence  amongst  them  when  he  was  compiling 
and,  later,  publishing  the  "  Jail  Journal."  »w  ^,7^ 

The  Neptune  convict  ship  in  which  he  was  interned  was  of 
643  tons  register,  commanded  by  John  Henderson.  The  two 
bashful  officers  were  Lieutenant  Melvin  and  Ensign  Manners 
of  the  91st  Regiment.  They  commanded  a  guard  of  forty-seven 
men. 

IV.  The  Cuban  Filibusters 

In  August,  1850,  General  Narciso  Lopez,  at  the  head  of  450 
men,  led  a  second  expedition  which  he  had  organised  in  the 


APPENDICES  431 

United  States  to  Cuba.  He  contrived  to  successfully  evade 
the  Spanish  and  American  warships,  which  the  respective 
governments,  suspecting  his  intention,  placed  on  watch  between 
the  American  mainland  and  the  island,  and  on  the  12th  of  August 
disembarked  at  Cabano,  forty  miles  west  of  Havana.  The 
would-be  liberators  of  Cuba  were,  however,  badly  received  by 
the  people,  none  of  whom  joined  their  standard,  and  many  of 
whom  took  active  part  with  the  Spanish  Government  against 
them.  Some  skirmishes  took  place  between  the  filibusters  and 
the  garrison,  and  in  the  end  the  former  broke  up  into  small 
parties  which  eventually  surrendered  or  were  captured.  Lopez 
was  among  the  latter.  He  was  publicly  executed,  declaring 
"  I  die  for  my  beloved  Cuba."  Colonel  Crittenden,  an  American, 
nephew  of  the  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  was  one 
of  Lopez's  lieutenants  in  the  expedition.  After  a  fight  against 
two  battalions  of  infantry  and  a  company  of  horse,  which  he 
sustained  for  some  time  with  only  a  hundred  men,  he  attempted 
to  escape  from  the  island  with  his  surviving  followers,  but  was 
captured  and  shot  together  with  them,  about  fifty  in  all,  on  the 
i6th  of  September,  1850  at  the  Castle  of  Atares. 

V.  MiTCHEL  County,  Iowa 

The  Legislature  of  Iowa,  which  had  previously  named  two  of 
the  counties  of  the  State  after  Emmet  and  Davis,  named  two 
others  after  Mitchel  and  Smith  O'Brien,  subsequent  to  1848. 
Mitchel  County  is  in  the  northern  part  of  Iowa,  bordering  on 
Minnesota.  Its  area  is  480  square  miles  and  in  1900  the  popu- 
lation was  15,000. 


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Contemporaries  Mentioned  in  the 
Jail  Journal 

AiNSwoRTH,  Harrison  (1805-1882). — ^The  author  of  the  most 
indigestible  "  historical  novels  "  extant  in  English.  The  chapters 
in  his  "  Rookwood "  describing  the  highwayman  Tnrpin's 
mythical  ride  to  York  are  so  far  superior  to  all  else  in  his  writings 
that  suspicion  has  attached  to  their  authorship,  and  Dr.  Maginn 
was  named  as  the  real  writer.  Ainsworth,  however,  always 
maintained  that  the  chapters  were  of  his  own  composing.  Ains- 
worth before  he  turned  novelist  was  a  publisher. 

Akhbar  Khan  (1823-1847). — ^A  son  of  Dost  Mahommed,  who 
turned  the  tables  on  the  English  after  they  dethroned  his  father, 
and  compelled  them  to  flee  from  Cabul  through  the  Khyber 
Pass  wherein  they  were  annihilated.  His  energy  and  courage 
eventually  led  to  the  restoration  of  his  father  with  the  assent  of 
England. 

Albert,  Prince  (1819-1861). — Husband  of  the  late  Queen 
Victoria.  His  dishke  to  Ireland  was  expressed  in  the  blundering 
phrase,  "  The  Irish  are  as  little  deserving  of  sympathy  as  the 
Poles." 

Alexander,  James  Edward,  Capt.  (1803-1885). — ^Explored 
in  South  Africa  and  South  America  in  the  interests  of  England, 
and  was  the  chief  agent  in  spoiling  the  Egyptians  of  Cleopatra's 
Needle  and  setting  it  on  the  Thames  Embankment.  For  these 
and  other  services  to  civilisation  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  General  in  the  British  army. 

Antisell,  Dr. — One  of  the  younger  members  of  the  Con- 
federation in  1848.  On  the  suppression  of  Mitchel's  United 
Irishman,  he  took  part  in  editing  the  Tribune,  which  he  supplied 
the  funds  to  found.  After  the  failure  of  the  insurrection  he  went 
to  the  United  States,  where  he  became  distinguished  as  a  scientist. 
Among  his  writings  is  a  fascinating  and  valuable  work  urging  the 
re-afforestation  of  Ireland. 

Balfe,  John  Donnellan. — A  member  of  the  Repeal  Associa- 
tion and  afterwards  of  the  Irish  Confederation.  He  came  from 
the  Midlands,  and  was  subsequently  accused  of  having  been  ejn- 


434  JAIL  JOURNAL 

ployed  there  by  the  Government  to  foment  faction  fighting.  He 
acquired  the  confidence  of  the  Irish  of  Liverpool  and  issued  for  a 
short  time  a  journal,  Peter  Carroll's  Register,  in  which  he 
enunciated  semi-socialist  doctrines.  In  1848  the  Young  Ireland 
leaders  received  information  which  led  them  to  exclude  him 
from  the  Confederation.  In  July,  1848,  he  appeared  in  Tipperary 
on  Government  service  and  pointed  out  Smith  O'Brien  at  Thurles 
to  O'Brien's  captors.  He  was  rewarded  with  a  grant  of  land 
in  Tasmania,  a  Government  post  there,  and  a  magistracy. 
"  A  man,"  wrote  Mitchel,  "  eminently  qualified  for  an  office 
of  trust  and  emolument  under  the  British  Government." 

Barry,  Michael  Joseph  (1817-1889). — Barry  was  a  prominent 
member  of  the  group  which  surrounded  Davis.  He  edited  the 
"  Songs  of  Ireland  "  in  the  "  Library  of  Ireland."  His  song, 
the  "  Flag  of  Green,"  written  to  the  tune  of  "  O'Connell's  March," 
was  very  popular  in  the  Young  Ireland  period,  and  retains  popu- 
larity still.  After  the  failure  of  1848  Barry  avowed  he  had  lost 
all  belief  in  the  future  of  Ireland  as  a  nation,  and  counselled 
the  coimtry  to  accept  the  fate  of  an  English  Province  and  make 
the  best  of  matters.  The  country  did  not  take  his  advice, 
but  his  colleagues,  while  condemning  it,  did  not  question  his 
sincerity.  He  afterwards  edited  the  Cork  Southern  Reporter, 
and  later  became  a  Dublin  Police  Magistrate.  In  this  capacity 
when  the  prosecution  spoke  of  a  prisoner  charged  before  him 
as  "  wearing  a  republican  hat,"  he  said  he  presumed  that  that 
was  a  hat  without  a  crown. 

Baudin,  Charles  (1784-1857). — French  Vice-Admiral,  who  like 
Nelson  had  but  one  arm,  the  other  having  perished  fighting  the 
English.  He  served  under  Napoleon  bat  declined  service  under 
the  restored  Bourbons.  After  the  accession  of  Louis  Philippe 
he  returned  to  sea  and  won  a  reputation  which  France 
honoured  by  raising  him  to  the  high  distinction  of  Grand  Cross 
of  the  Legion  of  Honour. 

Blanc,  Louis  (1813-1880). — Bom  in  Spain  of  a  French  father 
and  a  Corsican  mother.  He  leaped  into  fame  by  his  pubhcation 
of  the  work  "  Organisation  du  Travail  "  in  1840,  and  became  one 
of  the  provisional  Government  of  France  after  the  dethroning 
of  Louis  Philippe.  His  speculative  opinions  were  mostly  wrong, 
but  his  character  was  brave  and  honourable. 

Bonaparte,  Louis  (1808-1873). — Nephew  of  the  Great 
Napoleon.  After  the  revolution  of  1848  he  was  returned  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  the  glamour  of  his  name,  the  belief 
that  he  was  a  man  of  peace,  and  the  unpopularity  of  General 
Cavaignac,  led  to  his  election   as  President   of  the  French 


APPENDICES  435 

Republic,  from  which  post  he  ascended,  via  the  Coup  d'Etat  and 
the  Plebescite,  to  the  Imperial  Throne  in  1852.  In  1859  ^^  "^^^ 
on  the  verge  of  war  with  England,  and  for  some  years  he  was 
regarded  as  the  chief  enemy  of  England  in  Europe. 

"  Bourdeaux-Berri-Bourbon." — Grandson  of  Charles  X. 
and  legitimate  heir  to  the  French  throne.  He  was  set  aside 
after  the  July  Revolution  in  favour  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
(Louis  Philippe). 

Brenan,  Joseph  (1829-1857). — ^The  youngest  of  the  Young 
Irelanders  prominently  connected  with  the  events  of  1848. 
He  came  to  Dublin  from  Cork  in  1848  to  join  Mitchel  on  the 
United  Irishman  and  after  its  suppression  wrote  for  the  Felon. 
He  was  arrested  and  kept  in  jail  for  nine  months.  On  his  release 
he  joined  the  staff  of  the  Irishman,  and  aided  Fintan  Lalor  in  an 
unsuccessful  scheme  for  an  insurrection  in  1849.  After  its 
failure  he  emigrated  to  America  where  he  settled  in  New  Orleans 
and  married  the  sister  of  his  colleague,  John  Savage,  to  whom  he 
addressed  his  beautiful  verses  "  Come  to  me,  Dearest."  Blindness 
overtook  him  some  years  before  his  death. 

Butt,  Isaac  (1813-1879). — At  the  period  of  the  "  Jail 
Journal,"  Isaac  Butt  was  the  intellectual  leader  of  Irish 
Unionism,  but  his  sympathies  had  always  been  national.  His 
association  with  the  Young  Irelanders,  and  later,  his  defence  of 
the  Fenian  prisoners,  impelled  him  towards  the  adoption  of  the 
rejected  "  Federalism "  of  1843  as  a  middle  course  between 
nationalism  and  political  unionism,  which  he  put  forward  under 
the  new  name,  now  famous,  of  "  Home  Rule."  He  edited  the 
Dublin  University  Magazine  in  pre- Young  Ireland  days,  and  as 
Professor  of  Political  Economy  in  Trinity  College  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Young  Ireland  period  delivered  the  most 
lucid  and  sensible  lectures  on  that  subject  ever  given  in  an  Irish 
University. 

Buxton,  Sir  Fowell  (1785-1845). — ^The  benevolent  brewer 
who  succeeded  Wilberforce  in  the  leadership  of  the  anti-slave- 
holding  section  in  the  Enghsh  House  of  Commons  and  was 
made  a  baronet  for  his  virtues. 

Carlyle,  Thomas  (1795-1881). — At  the  time  Mitchel  wrote, 
Carlyle  was  in  the  zenith  of  his  popularity,  which  had  blazed  on 
his  publication  of  the  "  French  Revolution."  In  his  works 
relating  to  historical  events  he  never  permitted  facts  to  control 
his  theories.  He  prophesied  that  Mitchel  would  be  hanged, 
but  he  remarked  they  could  never  hang  the  immortal  part  of 
him. 


436  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Chambers,  Robert  (1802-1871). — A  prolific  "  popular " 
instructor.     He  established  Chamber's  Journal  in  1832. 

Changarnier,  Nicholas  (1793-1860). — The  most  brilliant 
general  France  possessed  in  the  Kabyle  campaign.  Under  the 
Second  Republic  he  commanded  the  National  Guard  and  opposed 
Louis  Napoleon's  bid  for  an  imperial  crown.  On  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Second  Empire  he  voluntarily  went  into  exile. 

Clarendon,  Earl  of  (1800-1870). — George  Wilham  Villiers, 
fourth  earl.  His  public  life  was  spent  in  diplomatic  intrigue. 
He  was  sent  in  1827  by  the  English  Government  to  Ireland  to 
secretly  negotiate  a  bargain  over  Catholic  Emancipation.  In 
1847  ^e  was  appointed  Lord  Lieutenant,  caused  arms  to  be 
supplied  to  the  Orangemen,  and  subsidised  James  Birch,  editor 
of  the  World  newspaper,  to  print  foul  charges  against  the  moral 
characters  of  the  Young  Ireland  leaders.  He  also  caused  the 
anonymous  issue  of  "  warnings  "  to  merchants  £md  others  that 
the  Young  Irelanders  were  "  Jacobins."  "  His  highest  claim  to 
renown,"  says  an  enthusiastic  biographer,  "  is  his  conduct  as 
Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland." 

Cochrane,  Admiral  (1775-1860). — Afterwards  tenth  Earl  of 
Dimdonald.  After  a  distinguished  career  in  the  British  Navy 
he  entered  politics  and  was  continually  in  conflict  with  the 
Ministry.  Eventually  he  was  expelled  from  Parliament  and  the 
navy  on  a  false  charge  of  corruption.  He  entered  successively 
the  Chilian,  Brazilian,  and  Greek  services  in  the  struggles  of  those 
coimtries  for  poUtical  independence.  In  1831  he  was  reinstated 
in  the  British  Navy,  and  ceased  from  troubling  to  a  great  extent. 
Cochrane  more  than  half  a  century  before  he  came  into  Mitchel's 
life,  nearly  ended  Wolfe  Tone's  career  in  Irish  politics.  On  the 
2oth  of  July,  1795,  Cochrane,  together  with  Captains  Rose  and 
Woods,  stopped,  off  Newfoundland,  the  ship  in  which  Wolfe 
Tone  and  his  family  were  sailing  to  the  United  States.  They 
boarded  the  vessel,  and,  "  after  treating  us  with  the  greatest 
insolence,"  writes  Tone  in  his  Diary,  "  both  officers  and  sailors, 
they  pressed  every  one  of  our  hands,  save  one,  and  near  fifty  of 
my  unfortunate  fellow-passengers,  who  were  most  of  them  flying 
to  America  to  avoid  the  tjn-anny  of  a  bad  government,  and  who 
thus  most  unexpectedly  fell  under  the  severest  tjnranny,  one  of 
them  at  least,  which  exists.  As  I  was  in  a  jacket  and  trousers, 
one  of  the  lieutenants  ordered  me  into  the  boat  as  a  fit  man  to 
serve  the  king,  and  it  was  only  the  screams  of  my  wife  and 
sister  which  induced  him  to  desist.  It  would  have  been  a  pretty 
termination  to  my  adventures  if  I  had  been  pressed  and  sent 
on  board  a*man-of-war.  The  insolence  of  these  tyrants  as  well 
to  myself  as  to  my  poor  fellow  passengers  in  whose  fate  a  fellow- 


APPENDICES  437 

ship  in  misfortune  had  interested  me,  I  have  not  since  forgotten 
and  I  never  will.  At  length  after  detaining  us  two  days,  during 
which  they  rummaged  us  at  least  twenty  times,  they  suffered 
us  to  proceed." 

Dana,  Richard  Henry  (1815-1882). — ^An  American  barrister 
and  journalist  who  cured  his  sight  and  his  love  of  the  Sea  by 
embarking  as  a  hand  before  the  mast  and  aiding  in  working 
his  ship  around  the  Horn  to  Cahfomia.  His  "  Two  Years 
before  the  Mast,"  which  has  since  been  translated  into  nearly 
every  language  in  Europe  could  not  for  a  long  time  find  a 
publisher  wilhng  to  risk  its  issue. 

Denison,  Sir  Wm.  (1804-1871). — ^Brother  of  Evel5m  Denison, 
Speaker  of  the  British  ParUament,  and  subsequently  Viscount 
Ossington.  After  his  career  in  Australasia  Denison  governed 
in  India,  where  he  opposed  the  estabhshment  of  legislative 
councils  in  the  Indian  "  Provinces  "  and  native  representation. 

Dickens,  Charles  (1812-1870). — ^At  the  period  of  the  "Jail 
Journal "  some  of  Dickens'  best  work — "  David  Copperfield  " 
and  "  Bleak  House,"  for  instance — was  still  undone.  Dickens 
had  no  liking  for  the  Irish  people. 

Dillon,  John  Blake  {1816-1866). — ^With  Davis  and  Duffy 
one  of  the  three  founders  of  the  Nation,  to  which,  however,  his 
literary  assistance  was  not  great,  his  temperament  being  on  the 
indolent  side.  He  was  one  of  the  majority  in  opposition  to 
Mitchel's  policy  in  the  Confederation  in  1848,  but  he  afterwards 
took  part  in  the  outbreak  and  commanded  the  insurgents  at 
Killenaule.  On  his  return  to  Ireland  he  entered  both  the 
Corporation  and  the  British  Parliament.  His  opposition  to 
Fenianism,  and  his  advocacy  of  an  Irish-Radical  aUiance  sub- 
jected him  to  much  adverse  criticism,  but  his  honesty  of  character 
was  recognised  by  all.  Mitchel  described  him  as  a  man  who  was 
all  wrong  on  almost  every  question  but  nevertheless  better 
than  most  people  who  were  all  right. 

Doheny  Michael  (1805-1861). — Most  of  the  Yoimg  Ireland 
leaders  were  University  men — springing  from  the  landed, 
mercantile  and  professional  classes.  Doheny  was  one  of  the 
exceptions.  He  was  the  son  of  very  poor  parents,  and  he  was 
practically  self-taught.  At  the  bar,  to  which,  overcoming  great 
obstacles,  he  was  called  he  won  a  fairly  distinguished  place  and 
great  popularity  amongst  the  people  of  the  South.  In  the  Con- 
federation in  1848  he  opposed  Mitchel's  pohcy,  but  subesquently 
took  part  in  the  Rising  and  evaded  capture  after  its  failiure. 
In  the  "  Felon's  Track  "  he  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  1848  in 


438  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Ireland.     In  America  he  practised  at  the  bar  and  became  one 
of  the  fotmders  of  the  Fenian  Movement. 

Dost  Mahommed  (1800-1860). — ^The  wisest  and  bravest  of  the 
Ameers  of  Afghanistan  in  centuries.  He  raised  his  country  to 
so  high  a  pitch  that  if  swift  redress  did  not  follow  on  the  in- 
fliction of  a  wrong  the  people  asked  :  "Is  Dost  Mahommed 
dead  ?  "  England,  apprehensive  of  the  strength  to  which  he  was 
raising  Afghanistan  and  failing  by  a  series  of  insults  to  force 
him  to  make  war  upon  her  made  war  upon  him  and  drove  him 
into  Bokhara  whence  he  unsuccessfully  made  an  attempt  to 
regain  his  throne  by  force  of  arms.  He  then  surrendered,  but 
the  exploits  of  his  son  Akhbar  Khan  led  to  the  acquiescence 
of  the  English  Government  in  his  restoration  to  the  throne. 

Douglas,  Stephen  Arnold  (1813-1861). — Senator  for  Illinois, 
and  advocate  of  the  doctrine  that  each  State  should  be  free  to 
decide  for  itself  whether  it  would  maintain  or  abolish  slave- 
holding.  He  defeated  Abraham  Lincoln  in  1858  for  the  repre- 
sentation of  Illinois.  After  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War, 
however,  he  supported  the  North. 

Duff-Gordon,  Lady  (1821-1869). — In  addition  to  the 
"  Amber  Witch "  Lady  Duff-Gordon  published  many  other 
felicitous  translations  and  wrote  a  series  of  interesting  "  Letters 
from  Egypt,"  where  she  died. 

Duffy,  Charles  Gavan  (1816-1903). — Duffy,  who  had  been 
the  editor  of  the  Belfast  Vindicator  provided  money  for  the 
establishment  of  the  Nation,  which  was  his  personal  property. 
When,  in  1847,  his  views  and  Mitchel's  began  to  diverge,  their 
friendship  remained  uninterrupted,  but  in  1848  the  estrangement 
widened  and  Duffy's  actions  that  year  led  to  bitter  controversy 
between  Mitchel  and  himself.  After  the  debacle  Duffy  restarted 
the  Nation,  and  helped  to  found  a  Tenant-Right  movement 
which  the  "  Catholic  "  movement  led  by  Sadlier  and  Keogh,  des- 
troyed. Duffy  then  quitted  Ireland  and  entered  Australian 
politics,  becoming  Prime  Minister  of  Victoria  in  1871.  Two  years 
later  he  was  knighted. 

Dumas,  Alexander  (1802-1871). — Dumas  was  not  a  pure 
white  man.  His  father.  General  Dumas,  was  a  full-blooded 
negro  in  appearance,  the  offspring  of  a  white  father  and  a  negro 
mother.  Mitchel's  reference  to  the  novelist  as  a  "  creature  "  is 
probably  from  this  cause. 

DuNDAS,  Admiral  (1785-1862). — Sir  James  Whitley  Deans 
Dundas,  who  commanded  the  British  Fleet  in  the  Baltic  in 
1807  and  made  an  exceedingly  poor  display  during  the  Crimean 
War.     He  was,  however,  then  over  seventy  years  of  age. 


APPENDICES  430 

Elliott,  Capt.  Chas.  (1801-1875). — ^Afterwards  Admiral  Sir 
Chas.  Elliott.  Elliott,  carr5dng  out  the  instructions  of  his 
Government,  blockaded  Canton  when  the  Chinese  Government 
attempted  to  stop  the  smuggling  of  opium  by  British  merchants 
into  China,  and  exacted  a  ransom  of  a  million  and  a  quarter 
from  the  inhabitants  on  threat  of  storming  and  sacking  the 
city.  He  was  disavowed  by  his  Government,  in  order  to  "  save 
its  face  "  and  sent  to  the  West  Indies  as  a  "  punishment/'  but 
later  he  was  rewarded  with  a  title  and  made  an  admital. 

FiTZWiLLiAM,  Lord  (1786-1857). — Son  of  the  Earl  Fitzwilliatil 
who  was  Viceroy  of  Ireland  in  1795,  and  one  of  the  "Free 
Trade  "  Leaders. 

Frazer,  James  Baillie  (1783-1856). — Author  of  many  books 
of  romance  and  travel,  mostly  rubbish. 

French,  Henry  Sneyd. — ^High  Sheriff  of  Dublin  in  1848. 
Although  the  CathoUcs  were  two  to  one  on  the  jury  list  he 
arranged  a  panel  for  Mitchel's  trial,  on  which  five-sixths  were 
Protestants,  and  the  one-sixth  Catholics  were  placed  at  the  end 
of  the  panel.  Before  the  trial  came  on,  Wheeler  the  Chief  Clerk 
and  Monahan,  brother  to  the  Attomey-General — a  CathoUc — 
who  had  assisted  in  rigging  the  panel  were  sent  out  of  the  country. 
When  the  jury  was  called  the  Crown  challenged  every  Catholic 
who  answered  his  name — sixteen  in  all — and  twenty-three 
Protestants  who  were  men  of  independent  character.  The 
jury  sworn  consisted  of  Enghshmen,  Orangemen  and  Castle 
tradesmen.  They  were : — ^John  Whitty  (Foreman),  tailor, 
College  Green ;  Wm.  Fletcher,  saddler,  Bolton  Street ;  Robert 
Thomas,  draper,  Redmond's  Hill ;  Frederick  Rambaut,  wine 
merchant.  Upper  Dorset  Street ;  Wm.  Mansfield,  dressing-case 
maker,  Grafton  Street ;  Halwood  Clarke,  hosier,  Mary  Street 
and  Jervis  Street ;  Richard  Yoakely,  china  warehouseman, 
Grafton  Street ;  Edward  Rothwell,  bootseller.  Upper  Ormond 
Quay ;  Jason  Sherwood,  plumber,  etc..  North  Earl  Street ; 
Thomas  Bridgeford,  seedsman,  Sackville  Street :  Wm.  Horatio 
Nelson,  miniature  painter,  Grafton  Street,  and  John  Collier. 

Whitty,  the  foreman  of  the  jury,  was  a  zealous  minor  Unionist 
politician.  The  Government  rewarded  him  for  his  services  as 
a  jmyman  by  appointing  him  to  the  Australasian  Bench  at 
£800  per  annum.  Mansfield  was  an  Englishman  who  had 
opened  a  shop  in  Grafton  Street,  Dublin,  and  was  selling  out 
to  return  to  England  at  the  time.  Sherwood,  Halwell  Clarke, 
and  Yoakley  were  of  English  origin. 

Garibaldi,  Guiseppe  (1807-1882). — Originally  a  sailor,  his 
share  in  the  active  opposition  to  the  Austrian  occupation  of 


446  Mil  fOUkNAL 

Italy  made  him  a  fugitive  to  South  America,  where  in  Brazil 
and,  later  on,  Montevideo,  he  fought  against  the  Dictator  Rosas. 
He  returned  to  Italy  in  1848  and  took  a  leading  part  in  the 
desultory  wars  which  culminated  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Italy.  In  1870  he  fought  with  the  French  against 
the  Prussians. 

Gavazzi,  Alessandro,  Father  (1809-1885). — ^A  Bamabite, 
who  after  the  French  occupation  of  Rome  toured  Great  Britain, 
Ireland  and  America  delivering  lectures  against  the  Vatican. 
His  lectures  aroused  bitter  feeling  between  Catholics  and  Pro- 
testants in  many  places.  He  took  part  later  with  Garibaldi 
in  his  Sicilian  expedition. 

Gray,  Sir  John  (1815-1875). — Son  of  John  Gray  of  Clare- 
morris.  Practised  in  Dublin  as  a  doctor  and  acquired  ownership 
of  the  Freeman's  Journal,  which  he  conducted  on  cautious 
nationalist  lines  in  1848.  He  was  on  the  outskirts  of  the  Young 
Ireland  Movement,  but  never  of  it.  He  afterwards  sat  in  the 
British  Parliament  for  Kilkenny  and  was  an  active  member  of 
the  Dublin  Corporation.  He  worked  with  success  towards  the 
disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church  and  the  introduction  of 
the  Vartry  Water  supply  into  Dublin.  For  these  services  he 
received  a  monetary  testimonial  in  his  life  time  and  a  marble 
statue  after  his  death. 

Grey,  Earl  (1802-1894). — Henry  Grey,  third  earl,  English 
Colonial  Secretary  in  Russell's  ministry  from  1846  to  1852.  He 
was  so  principled  that  he  refused  the  under-secretaryship  for 
the  Colonies  in  an  administration  which  would  not  immediately 
free  the  slaves,  but  he  accepted  a  higher  post  in  its  stead. 

Grey,  Sir  George  (1792-1882). — EngUsh  Home  Secretary  in 
Russell's  and  Palmerston's  administrations,  and  Colonial 
Secretary  in  that  of  Aberdeen.  Under  pressure  from  the 
Colonies,  alarmed  by  the  Cape  revolt  against  felony  being  shot 
on  its  shores,  he  changed  the  punishment  of  transportation 
abroad  into  one  of  penal  servitude  at  home. 

Hall,  Capt.  Wm.  (1797-1878). — Nicknamed  "  Nemesis  Hall " 
from  the  fact  that  he  commanded  the  Nemesis  steam-warvessel, 
steam-warvessels  then  being  novel — with  remarkable  success  in 
the  Chinese  Opium  War  and  from  the  other  fact  of  the  existence 
of  a  second  Captain  Wm.  Hall.  He  subsequently  served  in  the 
Crimean  War.  He  was  a  brave  and  ingenious  sailor  and  died 
Admiral  Sir  William  Hall.  Captain  Basil  Hall  with  whom  he 
was  anxious  Mitchel  should  not  confound  him,  has  a  description 
in  his  travels  in  the  country  of  the  Creek  Indians  of  a  game  which 
is  practically  identical  with  hurling. 


APPENDICES  441 

Hudson,  Geo.  (1800-1871).— The  "  Railway  King,"  a  York- 
shire draper,  M.P.  for  Sunderland,  and  Mayor  of  York.  His 
dealings  in  railways  created  a  gambling  mania  in  England, 
which  worshipped  him  for  some  years  as  a  demi-god — the 
English  aristocracy,  with  Queen  Victoria's  husband  at  their 
head,  crowding  his  receptions.  Thousands  were  eventually 
ruined  by  his  practices,  yet  although  he  had  been  guilty  of  falsi- 
fication and  fraud,  he  not  only  was  not  prosecuted  but  remained 
a  British  legislator  until  1859. 

Hugo,  Victor  (1802-1884). — In  the  forties  of  the  last  century, 
Hugo  strongly  advocated  a  Franco-German  Alliance  against 
England  and  Russia,  and  Louis  PhiUippe  thought  seriously  on 
the  subject.  These  and  other  poUtical  writings  of  Hugo,  Mitchel 
approved,  but  Hugo's  novels  and  poems,  reeking  with  senti- 
mentahsm  he  detested.  There  is  a  curious  Irish  character 
introduced  very  effectively  by  Hugo  in  the  course  of  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  storm  at  sea  in  "  L'Homme  qui  Rit." 

Jerrold,  Douglas  (1803-1857). — ^Author  of  "  Mrs.  Caudle's 
Curtain  Lectures,"  which  caused  him  to  be  regarded  by  his 
countr5mien  as  a  humorist. 

Jones,  Ernest  (1819-1869). — An  English  lawyer  and  Chartist 
leader,  imprisoned  two  years  on  a  charge  of  sedition.  Jones 
wrote  several  novels  and  some  verse.  He  was  a  sincere  man, 
too  idealistic  to  be  appreciated  by  most  of  those  whose  cause 
he  championed.  His  son  is  at  present  a  Liberal  member  of  the 
English  ParUament. 

Keightley,  Thomas  (1789-1872). — ^An  Irishman,  author  of 
numerous  alleged  histories  of  no  value  whatever.  He  received 
a  civil  list  pension  in  1867. 

Ken  YON,  Father  John  {18 — 1869). — Parish  Priest  of 
Templederry  in  Tipperary.  He  was  a  man  of  vigorous  intellect 
and  character,  equally  strong  in  friendship  and  disUke. 
O'Connell  he  detested,  Mitchel  he  loved.  His  life  was  menaced 
by  the  Limerick  mob  in  1847  when  he  appeared  on  the  hustings 
in  opposition  to  John  O'Connell.  He  defiantly  declared  that  so 
long  as  he  lived  there  would  be  one  citizen  of  Limerick  to  stand 
up  and  denounce  placehunting.  He  again  faced  the  Limerick 
mob  a  few  years  later  in  opposition  to  the  Earl  of  Arundel, 
son  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who  was  elected  for  the  city. 

Kossuth,  Louis  (1804-1894). — Minister  of  Finance  in  the 
Himgarian  Government,  restored  chiefly  through  his  exertions 


442  JAIL  JOURNAL 

in  1848.  When  Austria  treacherously  attacked  Hungary  in 
that  year,  Kossuth  took  charge  of  the  national  defences. 
When  Austria  called  in  the  Russians,  Kossuth  replied  by  a  decree 
separating  Hungary  and  Austria.  After  the  defeat  of  his 
country  he  fled  to  Turkey  and  thence  visited  France,  England, 
and  Russia  seeking  political  aid.  When  Austria  had  restored 
Hungarian  independence  he  (1884)  announced  his  allegiance  to 
the  Crown. 

Lamartine,  Alphonse  de  (1790-1869). — Lamartine  was  so 
ardent  a  supporter  of  the  Bourbons  that  he  would  not  stay  in 
France  under  Napoleon.  Under  Louis  XVIII.,  Charles  X.  and 
Louis  Philippe  he  spent  his  years  between  literature  and  politics. 
In  1848  he  was  chosen  at  the  Head  of  the  Republic,  and  disap- 
pointed both  his  countrymen  and  the  Young  Irelanders  who  had 
hoped  for  French  assistance.  Lamartine  was  married  to  an 
Englishwoman  and  was  all  his  life  responsive  to  English 
influence. 

* 

Lander,  Richard  Lemon  (1804-1834). — Killed  by  natives 
while  exploring  the  Niger  in  the  interests  of  the  Liverpool 
merchants,  and  regarded  in  England  as  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of 
civilisation. 

Lansdowne,  Lord  (1780-1863). — The  third  marquis.  Lord 
President  of  the  Council  in  Russell's  English  Ministry,  1846-52. 

Lefroy,  Baron  (1776-1869). — Thomas  Langlois  Lefroy,  of 
Carrickglass,  Longford.  He  sat  in  the  British  Parliament  as 
representative  for  Trinity  while  Mitchel  was  a  student  there. 
Subsequent  to  1848  he  was  promoted  to  the  Lord  Chief 
Justiceship,  which,  although  he  had  become  senile,  he  refused 
to  resign,  until  1866.  Lever  introduces  him  in  his  novel, 
"  Roland  Cashel." 

Leonard,  J.  P. — An  Irish  Professor,  resident  in  Paris,  who 
accompanied  the  deputation  from  Ireland  to  Lamartine  in 
1848  to  congratulate  the  French  Republic.  Mr.  Leonard  spent 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  France,  and  acted  as  Paris  corre- 
spondent of  the  Nation  during  many  years. 

Louis  Philippe  (1773-1850). — Son  of  Philippe  Egalite  and 
half-brother  of  Pamela,  wife  of  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald.  He 
was  heir  to  the  French  throne  of  Charles  X.  until  the  imexpected 
birth  of  the  Duke  of  Bordeaux.  Through  Lafayette's  support, 
however,  he  was  chosen  "Citizen  King"  after  the  revolution 
which  expelled  Charles.  His  reign  was  troubled  by  English 
intrigue  which  had  a  share  in  his  deposition  in  1848. 


APPENDICES  ,  443 

Macaulay,  Thomas  Babington  (1800-1859). — Afterwards 
Lord  Macaulay.  A  brilliant  and  unscrupulous  writer  on  behalf 
of  the  English  Whig  Party,  which  bestowed  large  rewards  upon 
him.  He  carried  the  art  of  suppressio  veri  and  misrepresentation 
of  history  to  a  height  which  has  been  never  surpassed  save  by 
Froude.  Except  his  "  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome "  and  Ballads 
there  is  nothing  he  has  written  worthy  of  preservation. 

MacManus,  Terence  Bellew  (1823-1860). — MacManus,  in  a 
chivalrous  band  was  one  of  the  most  chivalrous.  He  was  in 
business  in  Liverpool  in  1848,  earning  an  income  of  ^f  1,000  a 
year,  and  he  threw  it  up  to  come  over  to  Ireland  and  join  in  the 
insurrection.  His  ideas  of  what  constituted  warfare  were 
practical  and  had  he  had  his  way  the  rising  might  have  attained 
respectable  dimensions.  After  his  capture,  condemnation  to 
death  and  subsequent  transportation,  he  escaped  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  died  in  i860.  The  organisers  of  the  Fenian 
Movement,  then  in  its  infancy,  arranged  a  funeral  procession 
across  America  to  Ireland  and  the  "  MacManus  Funeral "  in 
Dublin  gave  that  movement  its  first  real  impetus, 

M'Clenahan,  John  (1816-18 — ). — The  ablest  of  the  provincial 
journalists  who  supported  the  Young  Irelanders.  M'Clenahan 
was  editor  of  the  Limerick  Reporter,  and  in  June,  1844,  urged  the 
arming  of  the  nation  as  the  true  method  of  forcing  Repeal  of 
the  Union.  The  article  was  formally  and  strongly  condemned 
by  O'Connell  and  the  Repeal  Association.  After  the  failure  of 
the  insurreclion  of  1848,  M'Clenahan  went  to  the  Unted  States, 
and  acted  as  sub-editor  of  Mitchel's  Citizen. 

Marcet,  Mrs.  (1787-1858). — A  Swiss  lady  whose  popular- 
instruction-manuals  were  highly  esteemed  in  England. 

Mangan,  James  Clarence  (1803-1849). — Mangan,  the  first  of 
the  poets  of  the  Young  Ireland  period,  took  no  active  part  in 
Irish  politics,  but  his  sympathies  were  with  Mitchel's  policy. 
He  lived  and  died  in  poverty,  always  declining  to  write  for 
English  magazines,  "  never  caring  that  there  was  a  British 
public  to  please."  Mitchel  made  a  collection  of  his  poems  and 
published  them  in  America  with  an  introduction,  which  is  one  of 
the  finest  of  Mitchel's  writings. 

Martin,  John  (1812-1875). — Brother-in-law  to  Mitchel,  whose 
sister  Henritta  he  married.  Martin  was  the  proprietor  of  a 
small  estate  at  Loughorne  in  Down,  and  with  a  temperament 
averse  from  political  life  he  entered  it  only  as  a  duty  to  his  country. 
After  his  release  from  prison  he  returned  to  Ireland,  and  in  later 
years  took  part  in  the  Home  Rule  movement.  He  sat  for 
Meath,  and  declared  himself  inclined  in  favour  of  the  Home 
Rule  members  not  attending  the  British  Parliament,  but  as- 


444  •  JAIL  JOURNAL 

sembling  in  Dublin.    The  death  of  Mitchel  affected  him  so  deeply 
that  he  died  nine  days  afterwards. 

Martin,  Marie. — ^A  French  journalist  of  the  first  rank, 
who  was  chief  writer  on  the  Constitutionnel.  Martin,  at  Mitchel's 
suggestion  and  on  information  supplied  by  Mitchel,  wrote  a 
series  of  articles  in  that  journal  on  "  Liberty  of  the  Press  in 
Ireland  "  in  which  he  contrasted  the  liberty  permitted  to  the 
anti-imperialistic  and  Republican  press  of  France  under  the 
Empire,  with  the  manner  in  which  the  Irish  press  was  gagged 
and  intimidated  under  the  English  Government. 

Mazzini,  Guiseppe  (1808-1872). — ^Foimder  of  the  La  Giovini 
Italia  Movement.  The  British  Government  opened  his  corre- 
spondence which  pzissed  through  its  post  office,  and  commimi- 
cated  it  to  the  King  of  Naples,  who  was  thus  enabled  to 
arrest  the  Bandiera  brothers  and  put  them  to  death.  His 
followers  in  later  years  fell  away  from  him,  condemning  him 
as  an  impracticable  ideahst. 

Meagher,  Thomas  Francis  (1823-^:867). — Son  of  a  Waterford 
merchant  who  represented  the  city  in  the  British  Parliament  as  an 
O'Connellite.  His  speech  in  Conciliation  Hall  declining  to  "  stig- 
matise the  sword,"  was  used  as  a  pretext  by  John  O'Connell  to 
force  the  Young  Irelemders  out  of  the  official  Movement.  After 
quitting  Conciliation  Hall,  O'Brien,  Mitchel,  Meagher,  Duffy 
and  others  established  the  Irish  Confederation — a  body  whose 
object  was  Repeal  of  the  Union,  and  which  worked  on  con- 
stitutional lines,  but  upheld  the  right  of  Ireland  in  the  last 
resort  to  use  physical  force.  Meagher  was  one  of  the  majority 
who  opposed  Mitchel's  policy  in  the  Confederation  in  1848.  He 
afterwards  took  part  in  the  attempted  insurrection,  was  captured 
and  sentenced  to  death.  The  sentence  was  subsequently  altered 
to  transportation.  He  escaped  from  Tasmania  to  the  United 
States  where  he  engaged  in  journalism  and  law.  In  the  Civil 
War  he  served  on  the  Northern  side  and  attained  the  rank  of 
Brigadier-General  of  the  Irish  Brigade.  In  1867,  when  Acting- 
Governor  of  Montana,  he  was,  as  it  was  then  supposed,  accident- 
aUy  drowned.  As  this  book  is  going  through  the  press  the 
American  papers  report  that  a  man  named  Miller  has  confessed 
on  his  death-bed  that  he  murdered  Meagher. 

Montague,  John  (1797-1853). — Montague  had  served  in 
Van  Dieman's  Land  under  Sir  John  Franklin  who  suspended 
him  from  office. 

O'Brien,  Sir  Timothy  (1787-1862). — Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin 
in  1849,  when  on  the  occasion  of  his  presenting  an  address  of 
welcome  to  Queen  Victoria  he  was  created  a  baronet.  He  was  a 
wealthy  publican  carrying  on  business  in  Patrick  Street,  Dubhn. 


APPENDICES  445 

O'Brien,  Wm.  Smith  (1803-1864). — Noble  and  fearless  in 
character.  Smith  O'Brien  was  the  most  imfitted  man  in  Ireland 
to  lead  an  insurrection.  Originally  a  Conservative  in  politics, 
his  appreciation,  after  years  of  experience  in  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, of  the  hopelessness  of  securing  any  measure  of  Justice 
for  Ireland  from  it,  converted  him  to  Repeal,  and  the  Famine 
policy  of  the  Government  in  1848  drove  him  into  insurrection. 
He  was  condemned  to  death  and  subsequently  transported. 
After  his  release  he  visited  Poland  and  America,  where  he  was 
received  with  great  distinction.  He  died  in  1864.  His  father, 
Sir  Lucius  O'Brien,  when  member  of  the  Irish  ParUament, 
advocated  the  building  of  an  Irish  Navy.  Had  his  advice  been 
followed  there  would  have  been  no  Act  of  Union  to  deplore. 

O'CoNNELL,  John  (1810-1858), — The  third  son  and  chief 
political  assistant  of  Daniel  O'Connell.  He  was  a  man  of  small 
ability  and  mean  mind.  After  the  final  collapse  of  the  Repeal 
Association  he  received  a  post  from  the  British  Government. 

O'DoHERTY,  Kevin  Izod  (1823-1895). — The  son  of  a  Dublin 
solicitor.  He  was  instrumental  in  founding  the  Irish  Tribune 
to  preach  Mitchel's  policy  after  the  conviction  of  Mitchel. 
Indicted  for  treason-felony  he  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  ten 
years'  penal  servitude.  After  his  release  he  settled  in  AustraUa 
where  he  acquired  fortune  as  a  physician  and  fame  as  a 
politician.  In  1885  he  left  Australia  to  re-enter  Irish  politics, 
and  sat  for  a  couple  of  years  as  a  Pamellite  member  of  the 
English  Parliament.  He  returned  to  Australia  in  1888,  and 
failing  to  regain  his  former  practise  as  a  physician,  died  in 
comparative  poverty.  His  wife,  "  Eva  "  of  the  Nation  lived 
until  1908. 

O'Donoghue,  Patrick  (18 — 1854). — O'Donoghue  was  one  of 
the  minor  members  of  the  Confederation,  He  left  Dublin,  where 
he  was  employed  as  a  law  clerk,  and  joined  O'Brien  in  Tipperary 
on  the  eve  of  the  insurrection.  After  its  failure  he  was  arrested 
and  sentenced  to  death  and  eventually  transported.  He  died 
rather  suddenly  in  New  York. 

O' Gorman,  Richard  (1826 -1900). — Son  of  a  leading  Dublin 
merchant,  Richard  O'Gorman,  of  the  Woollen  Hall,  Merchant's 
Quay.  O'Gorman  took  an  active  and  exciting  part  in  the 
Rising,  and  afterwards  escaped  to  France,  whence  he  proceeded 
to  Constantinople,  and  thence,  later,  to  New  York,  where  he 
became  a  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court. 

O'Leary,  John  (1830-1907). — Son  of  a  prosperous  Tipperary 
shopkeeper.  He  was  educated  in  Carlow  and  Trinity  College, 
and  designed  for  the  law,  but  he  declined  the  Bar  wheu  he 


446  JAIL  JOURNAL 


^ 


discovered  it  was  necessary  to  take  an  Oath  of  Allegiance. 
In  1848  he  took  part  in  some  skirmishes  in  Tipperary,  and  was 
arrested  and  imprisoned  for  a  short  period.  Later,  he  became 
prominently  identified  with  the  Fenian  movement,  although 
he  was  never  a  sworn  member  of  the  Fenian  organisation.  He 
acted  as  the  editor  of  the  Fenian  organ  the  Irish  People  during 
its  existence.  After  its  suppression  in  1865  he  was  sentenced 
to  twenty  years'  penal  servitude — nine  of  which  he  spent  in 
English  prisons.  The  remainder  of  his  sentence  was  commuted 
to  banishm.ent.  In  1885  he  returned  to  Ireland,  ancj  raised 
considerable  hostility  by  his  frank  condemnation  of  the  methods 
of  the  National  League  and  the  Parliamentary  Party,  but  he 
exerted  a  large  influence  on  the  younger  literary  men  and  turned 
the  sj^mpathies  of  many  of  them  nationwards. 

O'Mahony,  John  (1816-1877). — A  gentleman  farmer,  of 
Kilbeheny,  Limerick,  his  lands  forming  part  of  the  former 
possessions  of  the  O'Mahonys,  confiscated  to  the  Kingstons. 
O'Mahony  was  educated  at  Cork  and  at  Trinity  College,  and  was 
a  good  Greek,  Latin,  and  Irish  scholar.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Repeal  Association,  which  he  left  with  the  Yoimg  Irelanders. 
In  1848  he  joined  Smith  O'Brien  in  Tipperary,  and  after  the 
dispersal  of  O'Brien's  followers  at  Ballingarry,  O'Mahony  at- 
tempted to  rekindle  a  second  insurrection.  On  its  failure  he 
fled  to  France,  whence  later  he  proceeded  to  America,  where, 
in  conjuntion  with  Doheny  and  Stephens,  he  founded  the  Fenian 
Brotherhood.  He  died  in  poverty  in  New  York  in  February, 
1877.  His  translation  of  Keating's  "History  of  Ireland" 
was  declared  by  Dr.  Henthorn  Todd  to  be  the  best  one  published. 

OuDiNOT,  Charles  Nicholas  (1791-1863). — Second  Duke  of 
Reggio.  Son  of  the  first  Duke,  one  of  Napoleon's  marshals. 
Oudinot  was  in  command  of  the  French  army  sent  to  Rome  in 
1849  to  restore  Pope  Pius  IX. 

PiNNOCK,  Wm.  (1782-1842). — A  voluminous  compiler  of  hand- 
books of  "  popular  instruction."  His  son,  W.  H.  Pinnock,  followed 
in  his  father's  footsteps. 

PoMARE,  Queen  (1822-1877). — Aimata,  Queen  of  Tahiti. 
This  hapless  monarch  was  used  as  a  catspaw  by  the  English 
against  the  French,  who  retorted  by  annexing  her  dominions. 

Porter,  William  (1805-1880). — Born  at  NewtownHmavady, 
and  called  to  the  Irish  Bar  in  1831.  He  emigrated  to  the  Cape 
where  he  became  Attorney-General.  He  declined  the  Chief 
Justiceship,  the  Premiership  and  a  Knighthood.  On  his  retire- 
ment the  Cape  Legislature,  to  mark  the  esteem  in  which  it  held 


APPENDICES  447 

him,  voted  him  a  pension  the  equivalent  of  his  full  salary.  He 
transferred  one-half  to  the  Cape  University  of  which  he  was  the 
first  chancellor.  He  returned  to  Ireland  and  died  in  Belfast. 
His  nephew.  Sir  Andrew  Porter,  was  Master  of  the  Rolls  in 
Ireland  until  a  few  years  ago. 

Reilly,  Thomas  Devin  (1823-1854). — The  son  of  a  Monaghan 
solicitor.  Reilly  was  a  student  at  Trinity  College  at  the  time  of 
the  foundation  of  the  Nation  and  became  an  enthusiastic  follower 
of  Davis.  In  the  Confederation  in  1848  he  was  one  of  the  few 
prominent  Young  Irelanders  in  the  minority  with  Mitchel.  He 
escaped  from  Ireland  after  the  outbreak,  and  devoted  himself 
to  the  object  of  embroiling  England  and  America  in  war.  His 
last  act  when  he  was  told  he  was  dying  was  to  drink  to  the 
"  Freedom  of  Ireland." 

Reynolds,  Admiral  Barrington  (1786-1861). — In  command 
of  the  naval  forces  at  the  Cape  and  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa 
from  1848  to  1852. 

Roberts,  Col.  W.  E. — In  1865  the  Fenian  organisation  in 
America  changed  its  constitution,  depriving  John  O'Mahony 
of  much  of  his  power  as  Head-Centre,  and  creating  a  body  named 
the  "  Senate,"  of  which  Roberts,  a  merchant,  was  named  Presi- 
dent. This  practically  caused  the  splitting-up  of  the  organisa- 
tion, Roberts  becoming  leader  of  one  section  which  attempted 
an  invasion  of  Canada.     He  died  but  two  or  three  yeais  since. 

Robinson,  William  Erigena  (1814-1890). — A  Tyrone  man 
who  emigrated  to  America  in  1836.  He  sat  in  the  United  States 
Congress  as  a  Democrat.  To  him  is  due  the  forced  abandonment 
of  the  claim  of  England  "  Once  a  British  subject  always  a 
British  subject." 

Roche,  Edmund  Burke  (1815-1874). — Repeal  Member  of 
the  British  Parliament  for  Cork  County.  Later,  he  became  a 
useful  Government  supporter  and  was  created  Baron  Fermoy. 

RoLLiN,  Ledru,  Alexandre  (1808-1874).— Minister  of  the 
Interior  in  the  Republican  Government  of  France  in  1848. 
His  views  were  Extreme  Left,  and  he  wielded  enormous  influence 
amongst  the  artisans,  prior  to  the  revolution.  Louis  Napoleon, 
however,  superseded  him  in  popular  affection,  and  after  a  futile 
attempt  at  insurrection,  Ledru  Rollin  fled  from  France.  He 
returned  in  1870,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  present  at  the  Tara  meeting 
in  1843,  and  advised  O'Connell  against  such  gatherings,  his 
argument  being  that  great  hostings  of  unarmed  men  in  an 
enslaved  country  tended  not  to  rouse  a  spirit  of  independence 


448  JAIL  JOURNAL 

in  the  people,  but  to  accentuate  distrust  in  their  own  power 
to  resist  armed  tyranny. 

RuNjEET  Singh  (1780-1839). — Maharajah  of  the  Punjab. 
His  army,  taught  by  French  officers,  was  so  formidable  that  it 
secured  his  dominions  from  all  interference  by  the  British  who 
admitted  that  "  Law  and  order  "  reigned  therein.  After  his 
death  divisions  were  fomented  in  the  Punjab,  which  was 
thereafter  invaded  by  the  British  and  annexed. 

Russell,  Lord  John  (1792-1878). — Son  of  the  Duke  of 
Bedford.  Premier  of  England  1846-51,  and  again  on  the  death 
of  Palmerston  1865.  He  was  the  Minister  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  "  Famine  Policy "  in  Ireland.  His  father  purchased 
him  property  in  the  County  Meath,  including  most  of  Tara  Hill, 
and  erected  for  him  a  mansion  on  the  Boyne,  an  architectural 
horror. 


Savage,  John  (1828-1888). — Son* of  a  prosperous  Dublin 
shopkeeper.  After  the  suppression  of  Mitchel's  United  Irishman, 
Savage  helped  to  found  the  Irish  Tribune.  He  took  part  in 
the  insurrection  and  afterwards  escaped  to  America.  In  the 
Civil  War  he  fought  on  the  Federal  side,  and  later,  took  a  leading 
part  in  the  Fenian  movement.  In  1875  the  Degree  of  LL.D. 
was  conferred  on  him  by  the  Fordham  College  for  his  literary 
eminence.     "  Shane's  Head  "  is  the  best  known  of  his  poems. 

Shah  Soojah  (1781-1842). — ^The  ostensible  reason  for  the  in- 
vasion of  Afghanistan  in  1838  by  the  British  was  to  "  restore  " 
Shah  Soojah  to  the  throne.  When  they  evacuated  Cabul  they 
left  the  unfortunate  puppet  behind  to  his  fate. 

Smyth,  P.  J.  (1826-1885). — One  of  the  youngest  members  of 
the  Irish  Confederation,  the  son  of  a  wealthy  tanner  in  Dublin. 
He  was  educated  with  Thomas  Francis  Meagher  at  Clongowes, 
and  participated  in  the  insurrection.  After  the  failure  he  escaped 
in  disguise  to  America  where  he  planned  the  escape  of  the  Young 
Ireland  leaders  from  Van  Diemen's  Land.  He  returned  to  Ireland 
in  1856  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  politics,  but  he  did  not 
identify  himself  with  the  Fenian  movement.  During  the 
Franco-Prussian  war  he  organised  an  Irish  Ambulance  to  aid 
France — a  service  which  the  French  Government  acknowledged 
by  creating  him  a  Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honour.  In  1871 
he  was  elected  M.P.  for  Westmeath,  and  advocated  Repeal  in 
the  British  Parliament.  In  1880  he  was  elected  for  Tipperary. 
He  bitterly  opposed  the  methods  of  the  Land  League  and  his 
last  years  were  clouded  by  controversy  and  poverty.    After 


After  the  Eviction 


APPENDICES  449 

his  retirement  from  Parliament  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of 
the  Irish  Loan  Reproductive  Fund,  and  his  acceptance  of  this 
quasi-govemment  office  exposed  him  to  severe  criticism.  A  few 
weeks  after  his  appointment  he  died,  January,  1885. 

Smith,  Sir  Harry  (1788-1860). — Served  England  in  South 
America  and  Europe  during  the  Napoleonic  wars.  Afterwards 
on  the  battlefields  of  India  and  Africa.  His  harrying  of  the 
Boers,  and  his  defeat  of  them  at  Boomplatz,  where  they  offered 
resistance,  led  to  many  crossing  the  Vaal  River  and  founding  a 
new  State  in  the  wilderniess — the  "  Transvaal  " — afterwards  '' 
destined  to  avenge  Boomplatz  and  win  a  world-wide  fame. 
Harrismith  in  Natal  is  named  after  him,  and  Ladysmith  after 
his  wife. 

Stephens,  James  (1825-1901). — Stephens  was  a  railway 
engineer  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  in  1848,  during  which  he 
acted  as  Smith  O'Brien's  aide-de-camp.  He  received  a  bullet- 
wound  at  Ballingarry,  and  was  supposed  to  have  been  killed — 
obituary  notices  being  published  of  him  in  the  Kilkenny  papers. 
He  permitted  the  belief  of  his  death  to  prevail  as  a  cloak  for 
a  daring  scheme  to  capture  the  British  Prime  Minister,  and 
hold  him  as  a  hostage.  The  scheme  miscarried,  and  Stephens 
reached  France  in  disguise,  where,  with  O'Mahony,  he  formed 
the  design  of  the  Fenian  movement,  and  returning  to  Ireland 
travelled  all  through  it  survejdng  the  ground  for  the  conspiracy. 
Dissensions  arose  in  the  Fenian  movement  after  the  end  of 
the  American  Civil  War,  which  Stephens  calmed  by  promising 
insurrection  in  1865 — at  the  time  he  was  counting  on  England 
being  embroiled  in  war  over  the  Danish  question.  England, 
however,  declined  to  go  to  war  on  behalf  of  Denmark,  which 
had  been  led  to  believe  she  would  do  so,  and  Stephens  postponed, 
the  insurrection.  His  authority  after  this,  dwindled  ;  and  the 
Government  struck  a  decisive  blow  at  Fenianism  by  the  arrest 
of  its  leaders  in  1865.  Stephens  escaped,  but  his  failure  to  re- 
deem his  promise  to  unfurl  the  banner  of  armed  revolt  in  Ire- 
land in  1866  caused  his  deposition  and  his  formal  denunciation 
as  a  traitor — which  he  certainly  was  not.  He  realised  the 
impossibility  of  a  successful  insurrection  in  Ireland  whilst 
England  was  not  engaged  in  a  war  with  one  of  the  Great  Powers, 
but  he  had  built  so  far  on  such  a  war  that  he  made  extravagant 
promises  which  his  followers  believed,  and  which,  when  he  was 
unable  to  redeem  them,  caused  a  large  section  to  think  he  had 
deliberately  played  them  false.  After  his  fall  Stephens  removed 
to  Paris  where  he  lived  in  penury  for  many  years.  A  few  years 
before  his  death  he  returned  to  Ireland,  and  died  at  Blackrock, 
Co.  Dublin. 

29 


450  JAIL  JOURNAL 

Urquhart,  David  (1805-1877).— A  Scotsman,  for  some  time 
in  the  English  diplomatic  service  and  afterwards  a  member  of 
the  English  Parliament,  in  which  capacity  his  impatience  of 
party  restraint  and  his  views  on  foreign  policy  considerably 
embarrassed  English  Governments.  He  possessed  the  con 
fidence  of  the  Turks,  and  was  removed  from  Constantinople 
by  the  British  Ambassador  as  a  menace  to  the  peace  of  Europe. 
In  conjunction  with  Anstey  he  attempted  unsuccessfully  to  have 
Lord  Palmerston  impeached.  He  married  an  Irish  lady  and 
frequently  visited  this  country.  To  him  is  due  the  institution 
of  the  Turkish  Bath  in  Ireland. 

Verner,  Col. — Sir  Wm.  Verner,  member  for  Armagh  County 
in  the  British  Parliament,  1846-1852. 

Walsh,  Edward  (1805-1850). — The  most  Gaelic  ot  the  poets 
of  the  Nation.  He  translated  many  of  the  Jacobite  and  popular 
Irish  songs  into  English.  No  complete  collection  of  his  poems 
has  ever  been  made.  His  "  Irish  War  Song  "  was  superbly 
rendered  at  the  Feis  Ceoil  in  1899  with  full  choir  and  organ. 

Whately,  Archbishop  (1787-1863). — An  EngHshman,  appoin- 
ted Archbishop  of  Dublin  in  1841.  He  was  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  National  Education  system,  and  he  strongly  opposed 
outdoor  relief  for  the  famine  victims  in  1847. 

Whiteside,  James  (1804-1876). — ^The  last  of  the  great  ora'ors 
at  the  Irish  Bar.  He  defended  the  State  prisoners  in  1848. 
On  the  enforced  resignation  of  Lefroy  he  was  made  Lord  Chief 
Justice.  His  political  views  were  described  as  "  National 
Orangeism." 

Williams,  Richard  D'Alton  (1822-1862). — "Shamrock"  of 
the  Nation,  a  true  poet  and  a  true  humorist.  In  his  case  the 
Government  failed  to  pack  the  jury  properly  and  he  was 
acquitted.  He  afterwards  settled  in  Mobile,  U.S.A.,  where  he 
was  professor  of  Belles  Lettres  in  the  Jesuit  University.  Mitchel 
had  a  high  opinion  of  him  both  as  a  man  and  a  poet. 

Wilson,  John — "  Christopher  North  " — (1785-1854). — A  great 
literary  genius,  largely  misspent  in  the  service  of  Party.  His 
writings  made  Blackwood's  Magazine  famous.  For  them — and 
in  particular  for  the  "  Noctes  " — Mitchel  had  a  profound  ad- 
miration. 

WiNGROVE,  Henry  Edward  (1798-18 — ). — Entered  the 
British  Navy  in  1812,  and  became  commander  in  1846.  In  1847 
he  was  appointed  to  the  Scourge,  sloop-of-war,  "  420  horsepower  " 
: — then  one  of  the  first  steam  vessels  in  that  navy. 


Mitchel's  Escape 


The  following  letter  was  written  to  Mr.  "  Miller  "  by  Mitchel 
from  Hobart  Town  : — 

My  Dear  Baker, 

As  I  have  still,  unluckily,  some  leisure  to  spend  in  Van 
Diemen's  Land,  I  sit  down  to  give  you  an  account  of  myself 
since  I  parted  from  you  at  Spring  Lawn.  No  doubt  you  will 
be  interested  to  hear  of  the  after-fortunes  of  your  protege  and 
brother.  The  Burkes  brought  me  successfully  to  Launceston, 
where  we  arrived  between  six  and  seven  o'clock.  I  was  very 
tired,  and  counted  upon  going  at  once  on  board  the  Clarence 
and  sleeping  in  my  berth..  However,  when  our  friends  came  up 
to  Mr.  Butler's,  they  told  me  that  Saunders  strongly  dissuaded 
me  from  going  on  board  at  Launceston,  and  from  subjecting 
myself  to  official  eyes  at  Georgetown.  So  he  advised  that  I 
should  go  down  the  river  that  same  night  (Tuesday)  in  a  boat, 
and  board  him  near  the  lighthouse,  after  he  had  passed  the 
clearing  officer.  The  night  was  wild,  wet,  and  stormy  ;  never- 
theless the  indefatigable  Edward  Dease  procured  a  boat  and  we 
went  down  about  eleven  o'clock,  and  embarked,  Dease,  Connellan, 
and  myself  with  three  boatmen.  Winds  against,  but  tide  with 
us.  Before  dawn,  arrived  at  Barrett's,  knocked  him  up,  break- 
fasted, put  his  boat  in  requisition,  and  he,  very  kindly,  offered 
to  come  down  to  Georgetown  with  us.  About  three  o'clock  we 
arrived  opposite  Georgetown.  Barrett  put  me  ashore  on  the 
west  bank  along  with  Connellan,  in  order  that  he  might  go  over 
to  Georgetown  and  show  himself,  and  assign  various  causes  of 
his  expedition  "  to  take  the  down  off."  Saimders'  arrangement 
had  been  to  make  it  dusk  before  getting  down  to  Lagoon  Bay, 
and  as  the  process  of  clearance  always  occupies  an  hour-and-a- 
half  in  Bryan's  Bay  our  plan  was  that  as  soon  as  the  Clarence 
should  be  boarded  by  the  police-boat,  Barrett  should  come  across 
again  from  Georgetown,  take  me  up  at  Kelso  (to  which  I  was  to 
walk),  and  then  pull  down  to  the  Heads  so  as  to  be  in  the  steamer's 
track.  Now,  sir,  this  project  seemed  to  us  all  a  very  good 
plot  indeed  ;  but  the  devil  himself,  with  infernal  ingenuity 
contributed  to  spoil  it.  For  the  devil  had  put  it  into  the  head 
of  his  friend  the  clearing-officer,  to  go  up  to  Launceston  himself 
the  day  before,  and  he  was  actually  coming  down  to  Georgetown 

15^ 


452  JAIL  JOURNAL 

on  board  the  Clarence  ;  and  to  save  time  .he  carried  on  his  in- 
spection all  the  time,  still  prompted  by  the  devil,  and  so  when 
the  police-boat  came  off,  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  drop  into 
her,  and  the  steamer  held  on  her  way  without  an  instant's 
stoppage.  Thus  it  happened  that  by  the  time  Barrett's  boat 
had  come  over  to  Kelso  for  me,  and  I  had  got  into  her,  the 
steamer  was  down  just  inside  the  Lighthouse  point.  Then 
she  lay  to  a  short  time,  perhaps  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ;  but  our 
boat  not  appearing  she  put  on  the  steam  again  and  was  out 
of  the  Heads  and  away.  Dan  Burke  was  on  board  the  Clarence, 
and  he  says  the  captain  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  us  with  a  glass 
and  that  he  saw  Barrett's  boat  going  over  to  Kelso,  but  of  course 
he  could  not  understand  that  movement,  and  when  he  did  not 
see  her  coming  out  from  Kelso  again  immediately  he  concluded 
that  something  had  gone  wrong  and  that  he  would  not  be  justified 
in  remaining  any  longer.  Yet  one  other  half  hour  would  have 
brought  us  within  hail  of  him,  and  it  was  not  yet  dusk.  In  fact 
all  our  boat's  motions  were  clearly  visible  from  Georgetown,  so 
that  I  really  think  he  was  bound  to  lie-to  till  dusk,  remembering 
that  we  could  not  have  anticipated  the  unusual  circumstance 
of  the  steamer  passing  Georgetown  without  a  moment's  delay 
for  clearing.  I  am  unwilling  to  blame  Captain  Saunders,  and 
Dan  Burke  (who  came  on  shore  with  the  pilot)  says  that  Captain 
Saunders,  in  his  opinion,  did  what  he  had  engaged  to  do,  and 
was  most  anxious  to  get  me  on  board.  So  I  blame  nobody  except, 
as  aforesaid,  the  devil. 

Well,  sir,  we  all  came  up  that  night  to  Barrett's.  I  then 
determined  to  push  on  to  Launceston  the  same  night,  to 
go  straight  to  Hobart  Town  by  the  next  night's  mail.  About 
twelve  o'clock  at  midnight,  therefore,  we  took  to  our  first 
boat  again,  bade  adieu  to  Mr.  Barrett,  and  set  sail.  It  was 
Wednesday  last,  and,  if  you  remember,  it  blew  a  gale.  Our 
boat  was  one  of  the  watermen's  little  boats  and  a  mere  eggshell. 
We  were  twice  run  aground  on  sandbanks,  and  the  boat  nearly 
filled  ;  at  last,  in  a  severe  squall,  we  were  obliged  (to  avoid 
swamping)  to  run  the  boat  ashore,  haul  her  up,  and  sit  down  to 
spend  the  night.  It  rained  horribly — we  had  all  been,  hours 
before,  wet  to  the  bones  ;  we  could  hardly  make  a  fire,  but  at 
length  accomplished  it  and  stayed  there  five  hours,  all  sulky, 
wet,  sleepy,  savage.  Daylight  came  at  last.  The  devil  himself 
cannot  keep  the  sun  from  rising ;  and  in  short  we  got  to 
Launceston,  but  not  as  we  had  counted  upon,  in  the  dark.  It 
was  eleven  o'clock,  forenoon,  &c.  Dan  Burke  and  I  walked 
through  the  streets  coolly  and  quietly,  to  Father  Butler's.  That 
night  there  was  no  inside  place  to  be  had  in  the  mail,  so  I  had  to 
stay  till  Friday  night,  and  then,  rigged  in  a  clerical  coat  with 
standing  collar,  narrow  white  piuslin  band  round  my  neck  and 


APPENDICES  453 

broad  hat,  I  took  my  seat  in  the  coach.  I  wish  you  had  seen 
how  the  reverend  men,  Fathers  Butler  and  Maguire,  laughed 
as  they  dressed  me  and  how  truly  venerable  I  looked.  Connellan 
came  with  me,  but  here  again  the  devil  wanted  to  play  the  devil 
with  me,  for  he  put  into  the  coach,  as  a  fellow-passenger,  Mr. 
Edward  MacDowell,  a  lawyer,  a  man  who  had  seen  me  once  and 
talked  with  me,  and  who  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  sharpest  fellows 
in  Demon's  Land.  My  cue,  therefore,  was  silence  and  reserve. 
He  introduced  the  subject  of  religion,  asked  me  questions  about 
my  bishop,  quoted  Latin  ;  but  I  was  sly,  shy,  quite  Jesuitical, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  he  was  entirely  disgusted  with  my  manners. 
But  he  did  not,  I  am  certain,  suspect  who  I  was.  To  shorten 
my  long  story  I  am  here  all  safe  and  secret,  living  in  a  house 
two  miles  down  the  Sandy  Bay  Road,  and  can  see,  as  I  write, 
the  brig  Emma,  that  is  to  carry  me  off  next  Saturday.  What  is 
especially  amusing,  my  wife  and  children  are  coming  down 
this  week  to  sail  by  the  same  Emma,  so  we  shall  land  in  Sydney 
together,  and  together  sail  for  San  Francisco  or  Panama.  No 
difficulty  is  anticipated  in  getting  me  on  board  here,  if  the 
enemy  only  continue  to  be  mystified  for  six  days  longer.  How- 
ever, I  will  keep  this  letter  to  the  last  moment  and  let  it  not  be 
posted  to  you  until  the  day  after  I  have  sailed.  I  have  been 
thus  minute  in  my  history  because  I  do  really  believe  that  you 
and  your  kind  wife  take  an  interest  in  my  fortunes.  Sometimes 
I  have  regretted  that  I  did  not  stay,  when  I  was  at  Spring  Lawn, 
as  William  Baker  I  might,  by  this  time,  have  been  on  board 
the  Wave.  As  it  is,  I  have  undoubtedly  run  far  greater  risks, 
and  my  risks  are  not  yet  over.  Still  all  looks  well  at  present, 
and  I  am  not  given  to  despondency.  I  have  been  for  three  days 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Blake — two  days  before  that  I  was  the  Rev.  Mr. 
MacNamara  (whose  name  you  may  see  in  the  papers  as  one  of 
the  passengers  by  the  Clarence)  and  now,  since  last  night,  I 
am  Mr.  Wright,  supercargo  of  a  ship  shortly  to  sail.  I  don't 
know  what  my  alias  will  be  next  week.  But  under  whatever 
name  I  may  skulk  out  of  these  colonies,  be  assured  that  I  shall 
always  remember  with  delight  and  gratitude  the  pleasant  days 
I  spent  with  you,  and  the  true  kindness  of  Mrs.  Baker  and  all 
your  family.  Conveying  most  respectful  regards  to  Mrs.  Baker 
and  the  young  ladies. 

Believe  me, 

My  dear  Baker, 
Your  warm  and  grateful  friend, 

JOHN   MITCHEL. 

Alias  Johnston,  alias  Baker,  alias  MacNamara,  alias  Blake, 
alias  Wright. 


INDEX   HOMINUM 


Adam,  67. 
Aeschylus,  107,  134. 
Ainsworth,  Harrison,  71,  433 
Akbar  Khan,  103,  438. 
Albert,  Prince,  203,  433,  441. 
Alexander,  Captain,  106,  433. 
Allison,  Mr.  265. 
Antisell,  Dr.,  367,  433. 
Anderson,  Adam,  xxxi. 
Anne,  Queen,  xxix. 
Archimedes,  30. 
Aristophanes,  88. 
Aristotle,  20,  30. 

Atkins  of  Waterpark,  Captain  (In- 
spector], II,  12. 
Avezzana,  General,  356. 

Bacon,  Lord,  21,  23,  25,  27,  28,  29, 

30,  31. 
Baker,  Mr.  ("  Mr.  Miller  "),  325,  326, 

327,  328,  329,  451,  453- 
Balfe,  John  Donnellan,  264,  265,  433, 

434- 
Balue,  Cardinal,  47. 

Bance,  Captain,  217. 

Bandiera,  Brothers,  356. 

Bapst,  Father,  384. 

Barry,  Michael  Joseph,  207,  428,  434. 

Barrett,  Mr.  330,  331,  332,  333,  451, 

452. 
BauTot,  Camille  Hyacinthe,   Odilon, 

148. 
Baudin,  Admiral,  23,  434. 
Bayers,  the,  417. 
Beck,  Adrian,  211. 
Beech,  Mrs.  259. 
Beecher,  Rev.  Henry  Ward,  xi. 
Beccaria,  Cesare,  72,  124. 
Belzoni,  Giovanni,  61. 
Bern,  General,  201,  205. 
Benliiam,  Jeremy,  25. 
Berkeley,  Bishop,  xxxii,  33. 
Bemardi,  Major,  46. 
Birch,  James,  xlii,  xliii,  429,  436. 
Blake,  Bishop,  129. 
Blanc,  Louis,  356,  434. 
Blanqui,  Louis  Auguste,  xliii. 
Bonnefin,  M.,-341,  342,  343,  344,  345, 

346,  347- 
Bonnivard,  Francois,  47. 


Bourdeaux,  Henri  Due  de  (Comte  de 

Chambord),  19,  435. 
Bramets,  the,  417. 
Brenan,  Joseph,  208,  405,  435. 
Brock,  Dr.  260,  270. 
Brougham,  Lord,  30. 
Brown,  Captain,  337,  339. 
Brown,  Dr.  Thomas,  121. 
Bruce,  James,  61. 
Bryant,  Wm.  CuUen,  401. 
Burke,  Edmund,  xxix. 
Burkes,  the,  316,  320,  326,  328,  329, 

332,  333,  341,  452. 
Bumes,  Sir  Alexander,  98,  99,  100, 

loi,  102,  103,  104,  105,  106. 
Butler,  Father,  333,  334,  451,  452, 

453- 
Butt,  Isaac,  74,  435. 

Buxton,  Sir  Fowell,   159,   160,   161 

435- 
Byrne,  Col.  Miles,  406,  416. 
Byrne,  Mrs.  Miles,  416. 
Byron,  Lord,  205. 

Cabet,  Etienne,  xliii. 

Carlyle,  Xiiomas,  86,  119,    121,  204, 

435- 
Carleton,  Wm.,  129. 
Cavaignac,  General,  117,  356. 
Chambers,  Robert,  168,  436. 
Changamier,  General,  210,  436. 
Charlemagne,  82. 
Clarendon,  Earl  of,  xli,  xlii,  xliii,  xliv, 

xlv,  3,  9,  13,  54,  58,  59,  71,  72,  73, 

75,  76,  77,  78,  92,    115,  116,  129, 

144,  202,  217,  243,  436. 
Clarke,  Rev.  Mr.,  237. 
Clive,  Lord,  21,  22. 
Clonard,  General  Sutton  de,  407. 
Cobbett,   William,    xxxiv,    xliii,    82, 

378. 
Cochrane,  Admiral  (Lord  Dimdonald), 

34,  35,  38,  45,  54,  96,  97,  136,  436. 
Columbus,  30. 
Coimellan,  Corry,  xlii. 
Connells,  the,  271,  272,  305,  307. 
Cooper  (a  shepherd),  233,  234,  235, 

236,  237,  277. 
Connellan,  Mr.   329,   330,   331,   332, 

334,  335,  336,  337,  34i- 


455 


456 


INDEX  HOMlNVM 


Cony,  Mr.,  296,  297. 
Cowper,  Wm.,  97. 
Cowley,  Lord,  412. 
Cox,  Sir  Richard,  xxxii. 
Crampton,  Philip,  97. 
Crichton,  Captain,  64. 
Crittenden,  Colonel,  339,  431. 
Cromwellj  Oliver,  xxvii. 

D'Abrantes,  Duchesse,  47. 

D'Aguila,  Don  Juan,  220. 

Daedalus,  .30. 

Dalzell,  General  Thomas,  64. 

Dana,  Richard,  19,  437. 

Darcy,  Mr.^  of  Clifden,  xxxix. 

David,  King,  89. 

Davis,  Captain,  349. 

Davis,  Chief  Constable,  257. 

Davis,   Police-Magistrate,    304,    305, 

308,  309,  310,  311,  317,  336. 
Davis,  Thomas,  431,  447. 
Dease,  Edward,  328,  329,  331,  332, 

451- 
Dees,  Dr.,   140,  141,  142,  143,  144, 

148,  150,  152,  155,  176,  178,  180, 

181,  189. 
Delatude,  47. 
Dempsey,  Father,  407. 
Denison,  Sir  William,  225,  260,  261, 

264,  265,  282,  284,  285,  316,  325, 

437- 
Demey  the  Guard,  55. 
De  Vos,  Petrus  Jacobus,  183. 
Devon,  Lord,  xxxvii,  xxxviii, 
Diaz,  Bartolomeo,  133. 
Dickens,  Charles,  71,  289,  437. 
Dillon,  General,  407. 
Dillon,  John  Blake,  7,  37,  78,  242, 

350,  370,  397.  405,  437- 
Doheny,  Michael,  73,  78,  350,  367, 

405.  437.  446- 

Doherty,  Mr.,  417. 

Dost  Mahommed,  438. 

Douglas,  Senator,  293,  438. 

Dowsley,  Mr.,  156,  160,  i6i. 

Duff-Gordon,  Lady,  19,  438. 

Duffy,  Sir  Charles  Gavan,  37,  58,  73, 
128,  129,  130,  144,  145,  146,  201, 
202,  207,  219,  297,  428,  429,  438. 

Dumas,  Alexandre  (pere),  71,  438. 

Dundas,  Admiral,  137,  138,  438 

Ebden,  Mr.,  194. 
Egan,  Tom,  274,  275. 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  xxvii. 
Ellis,  Captain,  268,  269. 
Elliott,  Captain,  35,  43,  45,  60,  95, 
109,  110,  III,  115,  125,  142,  143, 

439. 


Elwood,  Thomas,  64. 

Emmet,  Thomas  Addis  (jun.),  401-. 

Emmet,  Thomas  Addis,  403. 

Emmet  Robert  (jun),  403,  404. 

Enmiet,  Robert,  431. 

Eugenie,  Empress,  345. 

"Eva"  (Mrs.  Kevin IzodO'Doherty). 

254- 
Evelyn,  John,  64. 
Ezekiel,  357. 

Fairbaim,  J.  J.,   192,  194,  197,  198, 

199,  215- 
Falstaff,  Sir  John,  10,  11. 
Fichte,  Johann  Gottlieb,  135. 
Fitzwilliam,  Earl,  59,  439. 
Foley,  Mr.,  320. 

Folgar,  the  Know-Nothing,  381. 
Francis,  Joseph,  Emperor,  148,  206. 
Frazer,  J.  B.,  61,  439. 
Frederick,  William  IV.  (of  Prussia), 

132. 
Frederick  the  Great,  125. 
Freiligratn,  Ferdinand,  221. 
French,  Henry  Sneyd,   48,  203,  243, 

439. 
Fulham  Bernard,  207,  208. 

Galen,  97. 

Galileo,  30. 

Garibaldi,  General,  288,  356,  396,  439. 

Garrett  (a  convict),  165,  166,  167, 

Gavazzi,  Father,  380,  396,  440. 

Gellius,  Auhis,  62. 

George  L,  xxix. 

George  II.,  xxix. 

George  III.,  xxix,  81. 

George  IV.,  xxix,  xxxvi. 

Gholab  Singh,  206. 

Gibbon,  Edward,  64,  121,  231. 

Gibson,  Dr.,  214,  224,  225,  226. 

Gifford,  William,  64. 

Gluckman  the  daguerreotypist,  55. 

Goethe,  Wolfgang,  113,  114. 

Gorgei,  General,  201. 

Gough,  Lord,  131. 

Grace,  Mr.,  9,  10,  12,  13,  14. 

Grattan,  Henry,  393. 

Gray,  Sir  John,  75,  440. 

Gray,  Bishop,  189,  190. 

Gray  (a  forger),  265. 

Greeley,  Horace,  401. 

Grey,  Earl,  139,  175,  181,  182,  183, 
188,  192,  195,  200,  204,  210,  216, 
217,  218,  220,  226,  351,  440. 

Grey,  Sir  George,  xlii,  36,  115,  157, 
440. 

Gunn,    Police-Magistrate,    256,    257, 

259. 


INDEX  HOMINUM 


457 


ttallaln,  Heitfy,  ii. 

Hall,  Captain  Basil,*  3. 

Hall,  Dr.,  43,  44,  45,  46,   108,  109, 

no,  115,  118,  125,    126,  130,  131, 

167, 
Hall,  Captain,    ("Nemesis,")    2,   3, 

441. 
Hampton,  Comptroller  General,  226, 

236,  240,  241, 
Harrison,    Dr.     Gessner,    391,    392, 

393- 
Haughton,  James,  386. 
Hawarden,  Lord,  321. 
Heber,  Bishop,  104. 
Henderson,  Captain,   148,    149,    158, 

185,  186,  188,  214,  224,  430. 
Henn,  Sergeant,  115. 
Hipparchus,  20. 
Hire,  Superintendent,  39,  54,  95,  118, 

125- 

Hogan,  Pere,  417. 

Holmes,  Robert,  xlvi. 

Holly,  Mr.,  296. 

Homer,  64. 

Horace,  134. 

Howard,  John,  72,  124. 

Howells,  John,    312,    313,  314,   315, 

316. 
Hudson,  George,  167,  441. 
Hugo,  Victor,  356,  409,  441. 
Hughes,  Archbishop,  395,  396. 
Hollins,  Captain  Geo.,  352  (note). 
Humboldt,  Baron  von,  154,  155. 

Jacob,  107. 

James  I.  (of  England),  46. 

James  I.  (of  Scotland),  47. 

James  H.  (of  England),  xxviii. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  xii.  288, 

Jehoiachim,  King,  47. 

Jeremiah,  87. 

Jerome,  St.,  63. 

Jerrold,  Douglas,  71,  72,  441. 

Job,  67. 

Johnson,  President,  410. 

Jones,  Ernest,  57,  58,  441. 

Judge,  Rev.  Mr.,  214. 

Keightley,  Thomas,  119,  441. 
Kemmis,  William  (Crown  Solicitar), 

57- 
Kenyon,  Father,  56,  411,  414,  415, 

441. 
Keogh,  Judge,  xlv,  438. 
Kepler,  30. 

Kermode,  Mr.,  266,  275. 
Kossuth,  Louis,  xv,   148,   205,   279, 

280,  288,  289,  296,  355,  356,  441. 
Kingsland,  Mayor,  401. 


Lake,  General,  xxxiii. 
Lalor,  James  Fintan,  435. 
Lamartine,  Alphonse  de,  78,  79. 
Lambert,  Mayor,  369,  370. 
Lander,  Richard,  107. 
Lansdowne,  Marquis  of,  138. 
La  Perouse,  Comte  de,  225. 
Laubscher,  Wentzel,  211. 
Ledru-Rollin,     M.,     xliii,    35,    356, 

447. 
Lefroy,  Baron,  i,  10,  48,  450. 
Leonard,  J.P.,  406,  407,  416,  417. 
Lilly,  Mr.,  322. 
Livy,  44. 

Lockhart,  M.P.,  Mr.,  137. 
Lopez,  Narcisso,  354,  359,  430,  431. 
Louis  XL,  47. 
Louis  XIV.,  206. 
Louis-Philippe,     79,     81,    157,    434, 

441. 
Lucas,  Charles,  xxix. 
Lucas,  Frederick,  430. 
Lyell,  Sir  Charles,  206. 
Lynch,  Very  Rev.  Dr.,  414,  415. 


Macaulay,  Lord,  20,  21,  22,  25,  26, 

27.  28,  30,  31,  128. 
MacDowell,  Mr.,  334,  335,  453. 
MacMahon,  Marshal,  406,  407,  408. 
MacManus,  Terence  Bellew,  72,  74, 

118,  155,  177,  216,  236,  246,  256, 

260,  269  (note),  270,  273,  349,  350, 

391,  428. 
MacNamaras,  the,  305,  318.  324,  339, 

340,  341.  342. 

Magee,  John,  141. 

Maginn,  Dr.  433. 

Maguire,  Father,  452. 

Mangan,  James  Clarence,  248. 

Maning,  Mr.,  347. 

Man  in  the  Iron  Mask,  the,  49. 

Marcet,  Mrs.,  20. 

Marie-Martin,  M.,  417. 

Martin,  Captain,  341. 

Martin,  John,  xl,  7,  8,  36,  37,  56,  58, 
68,  69,  70,  71,  155,  156,  177,  191, 
203,  216,  223,  226,  228,  229,  231, 
232,  233,  238,  241,  242,  244,  245, 
249,  252,  259,  260,  277,  278,  279, 
290,  293,  294,  295,  296,  297,  298, 
299,  303,  304,  305,  336,  340,  341 » 
389,  390,  400,  401,  414.  415 

Martin,  Mrs.  John  (Miss  Henrietta 
Mitchel),  412. 

Mason  and  Slidell,  410. 

Mathew,  Father,  129. 

Mazzini.Guiseppe,  147,  288,  356,  396. 

M'Clenahan,  John,  376,  405. 


458 


INDEX  HOMINUM 


Meagher,  ThomaS  t"r&ncis,  xli,  xliii, 
xlv,  xlvi,  7,  58,  72,  74,  118,  155, 
156,  177,  216,  223,  226,  229,  231, 
234.  235,  237,  246,  260,  270,  273, 
274.  275,  280,  303,  314,  350,  363, 

367,  375,  376,  391,  405,  448- 
Meagher,  Mrs.  Thomas  Francis,  274. 
Meer  Roostum  Khan,  100. 
Memes,  Dr.,  97. 
Milton,  John,  20,  210. 
Miller,  Alexander,  196. 
Mitchel,  Henrietta   (jun.),   408,   409, 

417. 

Isabella,  408, 

James,  309,  408. 

John  (jun.),  309,  408. 

Rev.  John,  3,  134. 

William,  54,  77,  161,  363,  412. 

William  (jun.),  408. 

Mrs.,  I,  4,  57,   125,  250,  255, 

259,  260,  262,  263,  266,  267,  269, 
270,  271,  272,  273,  274,  275,  277, 

278,  319,  333,  337,  339,  34°,  34i, 
362. 

Mrs.  (sen.),  4,  363. 


M'Kenzies,  the,  238,  239. 

Mohammed,  114,  357. 

Moilot,  Cardinal,  409. 

Molyneux,  William,  xxix. 

Montague,  John,  Eairl  of  Sandwich,  20. 

Monahan,  Chief  Justice,  xli. 

Montague,  John,  198. 

Moore,  Thomas,  34,  289. 

Morkel,  H.  J.,  212. 

Moses,  xii,  72. 

Mount  joy.  Lord,  xxvii. 

MuUer,  Wolfgarg,  248. 

Musgrave,  Judge,  216. 

Napier,  Admiral,  378. 
Napier,  Sir  Charles,  99. 
Napoleon  III.,   117,   148,   157,   279, 
290,  296,  412,  413,  434,  435,  436, 

447- 
Newport,  Sir  John,  xxxiv. 
Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  20. 
Nietzsche,  Friedrich,  xiv. 
Nicholas,  Czar,   148,   355,   358,   371, 

399. 
Nolan,  Mrs.,  170,  173. 
Norden,  Benjamin,  196,  198,  199. 
Norfolk,  Duke  of,  441. 
"North      Christopher"      (Professor 

Wilson),  III,  410. 
Northumberland,  Earl  of,  46. 

Oberea,  Queen,  347. 
O'Brien,  Sir  Lurius  (grandfather  of 
Smith  O'Brien),  429. 


O'Brien,  Sir  Lucius  (brother  of  Smith 
O'Brien),  144. 

Sir  Timothy,  203. 

William   Smith,   xliii,  xlv,  37, 

58,  72,  74,  "8,  129,  146,  155,  156, 
177,  216,  223,  225,  226,  236,  240, 
241,  245,  260,  261,  262,  263,  266, 
267,  268,  269,  270,  272,  281,  300, 
301,  302,  337,  340,  371,  388,  389, 
390,  400,  401,  402,  403,  404,  405, 

429,  431,  434,  445,  446 
O'Connor,  Mr.  Charles,  401. 
O'Connell,  Daniel,  xxxv,  xxxvii,  xl, 

5,  88, 140, 141,  217  (note),  292,  393, 

441,  447- 

John,  76,  88,  219,  441. 

O'Doherty,  Mrs.,  Kevin  Izod,  254. 
O'Doherty,  Kevin  Izod,  58,  73,  115, 

116,  155,  177,  191,  203,  216,  226, 

229,  231,  234,  235,  238,  244,  249, 

251,  253,  254,  259,  281,  300,  301, 

335,  389,  390,  445, 
O'Donnell,  Red  Hugh,  299. 
O'Donoghue,   Patrick,    72,    74,    118, 

155,  177,  216,  227,  445. 
O'Gorman,  Richard  (jun.),  7,  37,  73, 

78,  242,  356,  405,  445. 

O'Higgins,  General  Bernardo,  34. 
O'Keeffe,  Mr.,  318,  320,  321,  322,  323, 

325,  326. 
O'Leary,  John,  413,  445. 
O'Leary,  E.,  413. 
O'Mahony,  Sean,  410,  445,  446,  447, 

449. 
Omar  Pasha,  387, 
O'Mara,  Mr.,  320,  323. 
O'Neill,  Sean,  xiii. 
Orr,  "  Angel  Gabriel,"  381. 
Oudinot,  Marshal,  210,  446. 
Ovid,  15,  44. 

Page,  Colonel,  408. 

Pages,  Governor,  345. 

Palmerston,  Lord,  3diii,  201,  288,  388 

389,  390,  391,  400,  401.  450- 
Pamell,  Charles  Stewart,  x,  xiii. 
Paul,  St.,  xii. 
Pedro,  Dom,  II.,  158,  161. 
PeeJ,  Sir  Robert,  xxxv. 
Pellico  Silvio,  xvi,  47. 
Pichler,  Madame,  97. 
Pietri,  M.,  412,  413. 
Pinnock,  William,  20,  446. 
Plato,  25,  26,  27,  97,  107. 
Pliny,  49,  141. 
Pindar,  352  (note). 
Pomare,  Queen,  8,  345,  348,  446. 
Ponsonby,  Spencer,  xliii. 


INDEX  HOMINUM 


459 


Pooler,  Mr.,  256,  257,  258. 

Porter,  William,  190,  192,  193,  215, 

216,  446. 
Prior,  Thomas,  xxxii. 
Pythagoras,  20,  26. 

Rabelais,  Francois,  97,  202. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  47. 

Reids,  the,  242,  244,  282,  283,  284, 

285,  307- 
Reilly,  Thomas  Devin,  7,  8,  36,  37, 
73,  78,  287,  288,  289,  290,  291,  292, 
293,  294,  295,  296,  297,  298,  299, 

303,  350,  405,  447- 
Reilly,  Mrs.  T.  Devin,  292. 
Reynolds,  Admiral,  178,  447. 
Richter,  Jean  Paul,  24,  170. 
Roberts,  W.  E.,  411,  447. 
Robertson,  Rev.  Mr.,  243. 
Robinson,  M.P.,  Mr.  G.  R.,  137. 

W.  E.,  294,  447. 

Roche,  Edmund  Burke  (Lord  Fermoy) 

36,  447- 
Roden,  Earl  of,  208,  219. 
Romilly,  Sir  Samuel,  124. 
Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques,  64. 
Runjeet  Singh,  98,  loi,  102,  448. 
Russell,  Dr.,  61. 
Lord  John,  xlv,  58,  60,  92,  166, 

217,  448,  449- 
Mr.,  232,  309,  310,  315. 

Sadlier,  John,  438. 

Salt,  Henry,  61. 

Sandberg,  Rev.  Mr.,  191. 

San  Martin,  General  Jose  de,  3. 

Saunders,  Romulus,  297. 

Saunders,  Captain,  328,  329,  331  332, 

451,  452,  453- 

Savage,  John,  376,  435,  448. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  62,  97,  125. 

Shakespeare,  William,  10,  97. 

Shoojah,  Shah,  loi,  103,  448. 

Sigerson,  Dr.  George,  406. 

Sims,  Job,  314,  315,  316. 

Slade,  Admiral,  373. 

Sloane,  Dr.,  408. 

Smith,  Sir  Harry,  140,  175,  178,  180, 
184,  189,  190,  191,  193,  196,  197, 
198,  199,  204,  213,  215,  216,  220, 

449- 

Smuts,  J.  J.  L.,  192,  194,  200. 

Smyth,  Patrick  Joseph,  300,  301, 
302,  303,  304,  305,  306,  307,  308, 
309.  310,  3",  312,  316,  317,  318, 
327.  328,  336,  337,  338,  341,  358, 
359,  367,  371,  388,  389,  402,  416, 
448,  449. 

Sobieski,  King  John,  97. 


Socrates,  52. 

Somerville,  Sir  William,  xlii,  429. 

Standford,  Captain,  196. 

Stephens,  James,  411,  413,  446,  449. 

Stevenson,  Andrew,  393. 

Stewart,  Dr.,  176. 

Rev.  Mr.,   149,   152,   164,   189, 

196,  197. 
Stockl,  Baron,  378,  379,  395. 
Stuart,  Lord  Dudley,  288. 
Sullivan,  T.  D.,  406. 
Sutherland,  Thomas,  192,  198. 
Swift,  Jonathan,  x,  xiii,  xxix,  xxx, 

xxxi,  xxxii,  64,  282,  379. 

Tasman,  Abel,  223, 

Tasso,  47. 

Taylor,  President,  295. 

Thom,  Alexander,  xli. 

Tone,  Theobald  Wolfe,  436. 

Trehouart,  Admiral,  23. 

Tumour,     Lieutenant,     Comma  ncf- 

ant  of  the  Shearwater,  8,  9. 
Tubal-cain,  30. 

Uhland,  Ludwig,  121. 
Urquhart,  David,  289,  450. 

Vemer,  M.P.,  Sir  William,  157,  450, 
Victoria,  Queen,  xlvi,  6,  15,  38,  59, 
66,    103,  126,   129,    132,    155,  202 
203,  258,  268,  270,  286,  399,  402. 
Virgil,  227. 

Walpole,  Sir  Robert,  20,  33. 

Walsh,  Edward,  11,  12,  450. 

Waller,  Edmund,  34. 

Warner,  Dr.,  37,  43,  126,  127. 

Washington,  Gieorge,  xii,  387. 

Watson,  Admiral,  22. 

Watt,  James,  26. 

Wellington,  Duke  of,  xxxv. 

Westervelt,  Mayor,  401. 

Whateley,  Archbishop,  76,  77, 83,  450 

Whiteside,  Chief  Justice,  75,  450. 

Whitty,  John,  439. 

Wilde,  Lady,  428. 

Wilkes,  Lieutenant,  344  (note). 

William  III.,  King  (England),  xxviii, 

xxix,  xxx,  128,  149,  384. 
William  IV.,  loi,  102. 
Williams,  Richard  D 'Alton,    58,    73, 

115,  118,  405,  450 
Wingrove,  Captain,   14,   17,  34,  35, 

38,  39, 136, 137,  138, 142, 143,  450. 
Wood,  Mayor,  401. 

Zemaun,  Shah,  loi. 
Zimmerman,  218. 
Zoolfkhar,  Shah,  98. 


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